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PROPHECY  AND  THE  PROPHETS 


PROPHECY  AND 
THE  PROPHETS 


By 

BARNARD  C.  TAYLOR,  D.  D. 

Professor  Emeritus  of  Old  Testament  Literature  and  Exegesis 
in  Crozer  Theological  Seminary 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  JUDSON  PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO  LOS  ANGELES 

KANSAS  CITY  SEATTLE  TORONTO 


Copyright,  1923,  by 
GILBERT  N.  BRINK,  Secretary 

Published  October,  1923 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A, 


TO 

MY  FATHER  AND  MY  MOTHER 
WHO  TAUGHT  ME  AS  A  CHILD  TO  REVERE  THE  BIBLE 
AS  THE  WORD  OF  GOD,  AND  LED  ME  TO  FIND  IN  IT 
THE  WAY  OF  LIFE  IN  JESUS  CHRIST  SON  OF  GOD 
THIS  BOOK  IS  GRATEFULLY 
DEDICATED 


PREFACE 


In  Part  I  of  this  book  the  purpose  of  the  author  has 
been  to  present  in  a  brief  way  the  characteristic  fea¬ 
tures  of  Prophecy  so  that  the  ordinary  reader  may  be 
helped  to  understand  better  this  most  important  part 
of  the  Scriptures.  An  exhaustive  study  of  the  sub¬ 
ject  has  not  been  undertaken.  Such  a  study  will  be 
found  by  any  one  who  has  access  to  the  excellent  work 
of  Fairbairn  on  Prophecy,  or  the  later  work  of  David¬ 
son.  Both  of  these  may  be  highly  recommended. 
While  Old  Testament  Prophecy  is  generally  regarded 
as  a  difficult  part  of  the  Bible,  the  difficulties  are  not 
too  great  to  be  overcome,  and  any  effort  to  this  end  will 
be  richly  rewarded. 

In  Part  II  there  is  given  in  a  concise  way  the  condi¬ 
tions,  political,  social,  and  religious,  of  the  Israelites  at 
the  time  of  each  prophet  that  the  reader  may  get  a 
clearer  insight  into  the  meaning  of  the  prophet’s  mes¬ 
sage.  The  divisions  of  each  book  are  also  suggested, 


Preface 


so  that  the  scope  of  the  different  parts  and  their 
mutual  relations  may  be  better  comprehended.  A 
further  attempt  is  made  to  give  briefly  the  course  of 
thought  in  each  chapter  or  minor  division,  as  it  is 
believed  that  in  many  cases  this  will  be  of  as  great 
help  as  a  commentary  on  the  separate  verses  or  phrases. 
The  work  is  not  a  commentary,  nor  is  it  intended  to 
take  the  place  of  commentaries.  Without  question  the 
best  of  commentaries  are  almost  indispensable  to  one 
who  would  fully  understand  the  prophets.  It  is  hoped 
however,  that  what  is  here  offered  may  be  of  some 
use,  especially  to  those  who  do  not  have  access  to  the 
commentaries.  Any  contribution,  however  slight,  that 
will  help  to  a  higher  appreciation  of  this  rich  portion 
of  God’s  word,  it  is  confidently  believed,  will  be  accept¬ 
able  to  those  who  will  read  the  prophets. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 

OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.  Old  Testament  Prophecy  Defined.  ...  3 

II.  The  Special  Work  of  the  Prophets.  . .  9 

III.  Prophecy  as  Scripture .  15 

IV.  The  Theme  of  Prophecy  as  Scripture.  21 

/  V.  The  Interpretation  of  Prophecy .  26 

VI.  Prophecy  in  Relation  to  Israel’s  His¬ 
tory  .  32 

PART  II 

A  STORY  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL  PROPHETS 

I.  Isaiah .  41 

II.  Jeremiah .  52 

III.  Ezekiel .  62 

IV.  Daniel .  73 

V.  Hosea .  84 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

VI.  Joel  .  92 

VII.  Amos  .  96 

VIII.  Obadiah  .  103 

IX.  Jonah  .  106 

X.  Micah  .  109 

XI.  Nahum  .  114 

XII.  Habakkuk  .  1 18 

XIII.  Zephaniah  .  122 

XIV.  Haggai .  127 

XV.  Zechariah  .  131 

XVI.  Malachi  .  140 


PART  I 


OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY 


I 


OLD  TESTAMENT  PROPHECY  DEFINED 

The  term  is  applied  to  those  books  called  the 
Prophets,  beginning  with  Isaiah  and  ending  with 
Malachi.  There  are  some  prophecies  found  in  the 
other  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  some  of  these 
Prophets  there  occur  historical  narratives.  In  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  most  of  the  books  that  we  call  His¬ 
torical  are  called  Prophets.  The  name  was  probably 
given  to  them  because  they  were  regarded  as  the  work 
of  members  of  the  prophetic  class. 

The  word  “  prophet  ”  means  one  who  speaks  for 
another,  and  it  is  well  explained  by  the  directions  given 
to  Moses  with  reference  to  Aaron’s  relation  to  him. 
(Exod.  7  :  i,  2.)  What  Moses  wished  to  say  to  the 
people  he  was  to  speak  to  Aaron,  and  the  latter,  as  a 
prophet,  was  to  speak  it  to  the  people. 

The  very  common  idea  that  a  prophet  was  one  who 
foretold,  is  inadequate.  It  is  true  that  we  find  predic¬ 
tion  in  prophecy,  but  it  is  in  reality  only  a  relatively 
small  part  of  prophecy.  In  some  of  the  prophets  there 
is  scarcely  any  prediction. 

Prophecy  as  we  find  it  in  the  Old  Testament  may  be 
defined  as  special  messages  given  by  God  to  special  men 
to  be  delivered  to  the  people  at  particular  times. 

Some  things  that  we  find  in  the  Prophets  are  also 
found  in  other  of  the  Old  Testament  books.  Some 

3 


$ 


4 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


of  the  work  of  the  prophets  may  be  common  to  the 
work  of  the  modern  Christian  preacher.  But  in  its 
essential  features  Old  Testament  Prophecy  is  unique. 

In  elaborating  the  above  definition  it  is  to  be  noted : 

i.  The  prophets  were  specially  chosen  men.  It  was 
evidently  expedient  that  any  word  from  God  to  the  peo¬ 
ple  must  be  given  through  particular  men,  and  not 
directly  to  the  people  in  mass.  While  the  message  was 
intended  for  all,  it  had  to  be  given  through  some.  No 
charge  of  partiality  can  be  based  upon  this  method,  as 
all  alike  could  receive  the  message. 

During  much  of  the  history  of  the  Israelites  there 
was  among  them  a  class  of  men  called  “  prophets  ” 
who  at  times,  at  least,  lived  in  communities  more  or 
less  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  whose 
chief  purpose  seems  to  have  been  to  maintain  in  Israel 
a  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  and  to  secure  continued  loy¬ 
alty  to  him.  Not  all  of  these  men  performed  the  dis¬ 
tinctive  functions  of  “  prophets.”  But  nearly  all  of 
those  prophets  whose  writings  we  have  belonged  to  this 
class.  They  were  chosen  by  God  to  deliver  messages 
from  him. 

The  kings  of  Israel,  especially  those  of  the  line  of 
David,  ascended  the  throne  by  right  of  birth,  not  by  a 
special  divine  commission.  Likewise  the  priests, 
belonging  to  the  other  of  the  three  divinely  appointed 
institutions,  engaged  in  the  priestly  work  because  of 
descent  from  Aaron.  But  a  prophet  entered  upon  the 
work  of  speaking  for  God  only  if  he  was  specially  com¬ 
missioned  to  do  so. 

Usually  the  prophets  furnish  no  evidence  by  which 
others  could  be  assured  that  their  claim  that  God  had 


Old  Testament  Prophecy  Defined 


5 


directed  them  to  speak  was  true  except  the  evidence 
furnished  by  the  character  of  their  messages.  At  times 
the  fulfilment  of  a  prediction  was  relied  upon  as  a  final 
test  of  authority.  But  such  was  not  always  available. 
Convincing  proof  was  found  when  the  message  of  a 
prophet  was  in  harmony  with  the  character  of  God  as 
already  revealed,  and  with  his  truth  as  already  deliv¬ 
ered.  In  most  cases  we  do  not  know  how  the  prophet 
knew  he  was  called.  He  was  conscious  of  the  fact  that 
his  words  were  the  words  of  Jehovah.  This  divine 
authority  for  the  messages  was  the  constant  claim  of 
the  prophets,  and  this  claim  was  not  denied  by  the 
people,  except  when  the  message  condemned  too 
severely  their  conduct  or  was  in  conflict  with  their 
hopes. 

The  men  thus  chosen  were  fit  for  their  work  because 
of  their  natural  endowments,  their  environments,  and 
their  experiences.  They  were  not  of  equal  mental  abil¬ 
ity,  nor  were  they  alike  in  their  surroundings  and 
experiences.  These  differences  may  account  in  large 
part  for  the  differences  that  we  find  in  prophecies  they 
have  left  on  record.  But  their  messages  did  not  orig¬ 
inate  either  in  themselves  or  in  their  surroundings. 
The  style  of  Isaiah  differs  from  that  of  Jeremiah;  that 
of  Hosea,  from  that  of  Haggai.  Each  of  these  with 
his  characteristic  style  was  chosen  by  God  for  his 
individual  work.  That  which  is  specially  to  be  noted 
is  that  these  prophets  did  not  undertake  their  work 
because  they  were  prompted  by  the  needs  of  the  people, 
nor  because  they  were  conscious  of  having  the  ability 
to  speak,  but  because  God  commanded  them  to  speak. 
Their  words  were  with  divine  authority. 


6 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


2.  These  messengers  received  from  God  special  mes¬ 
sages  to  be  delivered  to  the  people  on  particular  occa¬ 
sions.  What  they  had  to  say  was  not  what  they  had 
thought  out  for  themselves.  It  was  not  merely  the 
result  of  their  own  experience  or  observation.  It  may 
be  that  sometimes  they  were  made  to  see  the  full  sig¬ 
nificance  of  what  they  were  commanded  to  speak  by 
the  experiences  through  which  they  had  passed,  or  by 
realizing  the  depths  to  which  their  people  were  sunken 
in  sin.  Yet  what  they  uttered  was  specially  given 
them  for  the  occasion. 

To  be  thus  special  it  was  not  necessary  that  the 
message  be  original  with  the  prophet  who  then  deliv¬ 
ered  it.  The  substance  of  it  may  have  been  used 
before.  Sometimes  the  thought  of  a  prophet  is  prac¬ 
tically  identical  with  that  of  a  former  prophet.  Some¬ 
times  its  meaning  did  not  go  beyond  what  was  already 
current  in  prophetic  teaching.  The  truth  they  were  to 
speak  on  any  occasion  need  not  be  new.  It  did  not  mat¬ 
ter  how  many  times  that  special  truth  had  been  uttered 
before,  if  it  had  been  used  at  all;  it  did  not  matter 
whether  the  facts  they  were  to  proclaim  were  already 
known  to  others,  or  were  revealed  to  them  by  God  at 
the  time  of  their  mission ;  what  they  spoke  at  any  time 
was  specially  commanded  them  by  Jehovah  who  sent 
them.  Thus  their  words  were  always  claimed  to  be 
what  Jehovah  had  spoken  to  them. 

In  a  number  of  instances  we  find  parallel  passages 
in  the  prophets.  Thus  Isaiah  2  :  2-5  is  the  same  as 
Micah  4  :  1-5,  except  a  few  slight  verbal  changes. 
Whether  one  of  these  quoted  from  the  other,  or  both 
from  some  unknown  source,  or  whether  each  is  origi- 


Old  Testament  Prophecy  Defined 


7 


nal,  does  not  in  the  least  affect  the  value  of  the  mes¬ 
sage  of  either  of  them.  Each  was  to  deliver  that  mes¬ 
sage  at  that  time.  Another  case  of  parallel  thought  is 
found  in  Obadiah  and  Jeremiah  49  :  7-22.  In  this 
instance  the  arrangement  of  the  thought  is  not  the 
same  in  the  two  prophets. 

The  prophets  delivered  messages  only  occasion¬ 
ally.  They  were  not  engaged  in  this  work  all  the 
time.  In  some  cases,  as  that  of  Amos,  it  seems  they 
had  but  one  or  two  messages  to  deliver,  and  then 
returned  to  their  usual  occupation.  At  times,  sev¬ 
eral  years  passed  without  any  word  from  God  being 
given  to  the  prophet,  if  we  may  judge  from  what  is 
left  on  record.  This  is  especially  clear  in  the  case  of 
Isaiah. 

3.  The  methods  by  which  the  word  of  God  was  com¬ 
municated  to  the  prophets  were  not  always  the  same . 
The  dream  and  vision  seem  to  have  been  common 
methods,  and  may  be  regarded  as  of  a  lower  order. 
In  contrast  with  these  God  said  he  would  speak  with 
Moses  “mouth  to  mouth”  (Num.  12  :  6-8).  The 
term  “  vision  ”  is  used  at  times  in  a  sense  wider  than 
an  ecstatic  condition.  It  is  so  used  in  the  title  to  the 
book  of  Isaiah,  and  applies  to  the  entire  contents  of  his 
prophecies,  most  of  which  must  have  been  received  by 
the  prophet  in  ways  other  than  in  a  vision  in  the 
ordinary  sense. 

Because  dreams  usually  have  no  special  significance, 
it  does  not  follow  that  God  did  not  give  thoughts  to 
these  prophets  at  times  by  means  of  dreams.  It  is  dif¬ 
ficult  to  know  just  what  was  the  mental  state  of  a 
prophet  when  he  had  a  vision.  In  case  of  either  dream 

B 


8 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


or  vision  the  prophet  knew  that  God  had  spoken  to 
him,  and  the  divine  authority  of  his  message  must  be 
admitted. 

Most  of  the  ideas  of  the  prophets  they  probably 
received  when  their  minds  were  in  a  specially  exalted 
state,  though  otherwise  in  a  normal  condition.  How 
the  Holy  Spirit  conveyed  thoughts  to  the  mind  of  the 
prophet  directly,  without  the  medium  of  the  physical 
senses,  we  cannot  explain.  Neither  can  we  explain 
how  a  thought  passes  by  means  of  the  sense  of  hear¬ 
ing  to  the  consciousness  of  a  man  in  ordinary  con¬ 
versation.  But  we  cannot  deny  the  fact  in  the  one 
case  any  more  than  in  the  other. 

We  may  the  more  readily  admit  the  claims  of  the 
prophets  that  God  had  thus  spoken  to  them,  while 
we  would  doubt  such  a  claim  in  our  own  dav,  because 
the  prophets  belonged  to  that  period  of  teaching  when 
God  was  revealing  to  men  his  will,  which  period  came 
to  an  end  in  the  culminating  work  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Such  teaching  is  no  longer  needed.  It  was  needed 
then.  (See  i  Cor.  io  :  n ;  Heb.  i  :  i,  2.) 


II 


THE  SPECIAL  WORK  OF  THE  PROPHETS 

There  are  two  distinguishable  features  of  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  Prophecy :  that  which  was  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  heard  the  prophet  speak,  and  that  which 
when  written  was  to  form  an  important  part  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures.  The  use  of  the  latter  was  to  be 
for  all  times.  Much  of  the  former  was  likewise  of 
such  character  as  to  be  of  permanent  use.  In  some  of 
the  prophecies  one  or  the  other  of  these  features  may 
predominate,  or  may  appear  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
other.  In  some  cases  it  may  be  difficult  to  determine 
to  what  extent  a  prophet’s  message  was  special  or 
temporary  only. 

We  will  first  consider  the  prophet’s  message  as 
meant  for  his  own  times. 

In  the  consideration  of  this  part  of  the  subject  it  is 
to  be  noted : 

i.  Both  the  matter  and  form  of  a  prophetic  mes¬ 
sage  were,  in  most  cases  at  least,  determined  largely 
by  the  political,  moral,  or  religious  condition  of  the 
people  to  whom  the  prophet  spoke.  Only  rarely  was 
the  word  of  the  prophet  so  general  in  its  character  that 
it  might  belong  equally  to  any  occasion. 

In  order  to  understand  then  in  full  what  a  prophecy 
meant  we  must  study  the  times  and  conditions  of  its 
delivery.  It  can,  for  instance,  be  easily  seen  that  sim- 

9 


10 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


ilar  expressions  might  have  widely  different  meanings 
if  delivered  before  or  after  the  exile.  We  must  learn, 
so  far  as  possible,  what  it  was  that  led  the  prophet  to 
say  what  he  did,  and  thus  better  understand  what  he 
meant.  If  we  know  the  historical  occasion,  we  may 
infer  that  some  things  were  in  the  mind  of  the  prophet 
that  the  prophet  did  not  express.  If  we  can  know 
how  gross  were  the  forms  of  idolatry  that  the  people 
were  practising  at  the  time  of  a  prophet,  we  can  better 
measure  the  terms  of  condemnation  that  he  utters.  We 
should,  if  possible,  put  ourselves  in  the  position  of  the 
people  and  listen  to  the  prophet  from  that  position. 

2.  Most  of  the  energy  of  the  prophets  was  spent  in 
trying  to  induce  the  chosen  people  to  be  faithful  to 
Jehovah.  The  Israelites  were  so  constantly  and  so 
grievously  sinning  against  God,  that  the  chief  work  of 
the  prophets  was  rebuking  and  threatening  them 
because  of  their  sins.  The  work  of  Elijah  was  repre¬ 
sentative.  He  sought  to  turn  Israel  back  from  Baal 
to  Jehovah.  For  this  he  prayed  to  God  at  the  contest 
on  Carmel,  (i  Kings  18  :  37.)  The  Israelites  had 
been  chosen  for  a  special  people,  not  that  they  alone 
might  receive  blessings  from  God,  but  that  through 
them  Jehovah  might  be  made  known  to  men;  that  the 
oracles  of  God  might  be  entrusted  to  them.  (Rom. 
3:2.)  This  purpose  would  be  prevented  or  hindered 
if  Israel  should  deny  that  Jehovah  was  the  true  God 
and  should  serve  idols.  In  direct  contradiction  to  the 
statement  sometimes  made  that  the  Israelites  were  nat¬ 
urally  monotheistic,  the  fact  is  they  were  almost  all 
the  time  practising  polytheism  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree.  In  all  their  history  they  sinned  by  worshiping 


The  Special  Work  of  the  Prophets 


11 


idols.  (Deut.  9  :  24;  1  Sam.  8:8;  Hos.  11  :  1,  2; 
Amos  5  :  25,  26.) 

The  character  of  Jehovah  as  holy  was  to  be  taught 
through  his  chosen  people,  not  merely  by  what  they 
said  of  him,  but  by  being  like  him  in  holiness.  In 
this  the  Israelites  most  miserably  failed  in  much  of 
their  career.  There  was  chief  need  that  the  prophets 
rebuke  them  for  their  sinfulness,  whether  that  was 
shown  in  their  conduct  toward  God,  or  in  their  oppres¬ 
sion  of  their  fellows.  Since  a  trespass  against  a  fellow 
Israelite,  who  was  one  of  God’s  people,  was  a  sin 
against  God,  we  find  the  prophets  often  threatening 
their  hearers  for  such  sin. 

The  reforms  instituted  in  Judah  by  Jehoshaphat, 
Hezekiah,  and  Josiah,  though  with  little  success,  were 
no  doubt  mainly  due  to  the  work  of  the  prophets  of 
these  times. 

3.  The  prophets  were  besides  spokesmen  for  God  in 
giving  assurance  of  ultimate  victory  over  their  enemies 
and  of  deliverance  from  the  afflictions  that  came  upon 
them  because  of  their  sins.  The  kingdom  of  Israel, 
even  when  greatest,  was  not  equal  in  power  to  the 
kingdoms  that  sought  to  subdue  it.  Because  of  the 
position  of  Palestine,  lying  as  it  did  on  the  highway 
that  led  from  Mesopotamia  to  Egypt,  the  Israelites 
were  exposed  to  invasion  from  the  two  great  powers 
that  lay  on  either  side  of  them,  Egypt  and  Assyria 
(afterward  Babylon),  in  the  frequent  attempt  of  each 
of  these  to  destroy  the  other.  It  may  easily  have  seemed 
to  the  Israelites  when  suffering  from  such  invasions 
that  nothing  could  save  them  from  destruction  by  these 
mighty  foes.  It  was  in  such  times  that  God  sent  his 


12 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


prophets  with  messages  of  cheer.  Not  only  would  his 
people  be  kept  from  destruction,  but  these  terrible 
foes  would  themselves  be  destroyed.  Even  if  the 
heathen  should  be  called  upon  to  punish  God’s  people 
for  their  sins,  they  could  chastise  only,  not  destroy. 
Israel  would  be  gathered  again,  even  if  they  should  be 
scattered  from  their  land  among  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth. 

Many  of  the  most  important  prophecies  were  occa¬ 
sioned  by  these  dark  times  of  oppression  through 
which  Israel  had  to  pass.  Desolation  by  enemies 
caused  prophetic  promises  of  prosperity;  the  horrors 
of  war  caused  promises  of  peace;  captivity  and  exile,  it 
was  declared,  would  be  followed  by  restoration  to 
the  land  God  had  given  to  them.  The  sins  of  the  rulers, 
the  oppression  by  the  strong,  the  faithlessness  of  the 
kings,  gave  occasion  for  the  word  of  God  through  the 
prophets  declaring  that  afterward  their  rulers  would 
be  just,  Zion  would  be  holy,  and  a  king  would  come 
whose  reign  would  be  characterized  by  righteousness. 
Even  when  the  Israelites  were  most  sunken  in  sin,  there 
were  no  doubt  some  who  remained  faithful  to  Jehovah, 
and  it  was  part  of  the  work  of  the  prophets  to  give 
comfort  to  these. 

4.  The  Israelites  were  chosen  by  God  that  there 
might  be  imparted  to  them  truths ,  not  only  for  their 
own  enlightenment  and  guidance,  but  to  be  treasured 
as  a  permanent  possession  for  later  ages.  Hence  a 
large  part  of  the  work  performed  by  the  prophets  was 
teaching.  Much  had  been  taught  in  the  law  given 
through  Moses.  Many  lessons  were  taught  by  God’s 
dealings  with  the  Israelites  of  which  we  have  a  record 


The  Special  Work  of  the  Prophets 


13 


in  the  historical  books.  But  there  was  much  instruc¬ 
tion  besides  that  was  to  be  given  through  the  prophets. 

It  was  their  duty  to  set  forth  the  principles  involved 
in  the  laws  that  were  of  essential  worth,  and  to  teach 
the  people  that  a  mere  outward  observance  of  the  laws 
did  not  satisfy  the  requirements  of  God.  There  are 
some  instances  where  the  words  of  the  prophets  seem 
to  set  aside  the  law  as  of  no  importance,  or  even  as 
in  conflict  with  their  own  higher  ethical  teaching.  And 
it  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  there  is  antagonism 
between  the  law,  particularly  the  ceremonial  parts  of 
it,  and  prophecy.  But  a  fair  consideration  of  the  con¬ 
text  in  such  cases  will  show  that  the  prophets  did  not 
condemn  the  law,  but  condemned  the  people  who 
thought  there  was  merit  in  the  heartless  observance  of 
it  and  that  sacrifices  offered  by  hands  stained  with 
murder  would  yet  be  accepted  of  God. 

It  was  the  work  of  the  prophets  also  to  interpret  the 
meaning  of  the  calamities  that  fell  as  judgments  upon 
the  Israelites.  Not  all  calamities  were  judgments. 
Those  that  were  could  be  known  as  such  by  the  accom¬ 
panying  message  of  the  prophet.  (See  Amos  3  :  7 
and  context.)  The  great  part  of  the  work  of  Jeremiah 
was  this  of  interpreting  the  history  of  Israel.  It  had 
been  predicted  long  before  that  severe  punishment 
would  result  from  Israel’s  persistent  sinning.  Jere¬ 
miah  showed  that  the  ruin  into  which  his  people  were 
entering  was  the  fulfilment  of  these  threats. 

The  prophets  besides  taught  the  great  truths  about 
the  character  of  God.  Jehovah  especially  revealed 
what  he  was  through  his  prophets.  They  emphasized 
the  doctrines  of  his  holiness,  justice,  mercy.  They 


14 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


made  known  his  moral  excellence.  They  preached  his 
hatred  of  sin,  and  that  he  would  punish  sinners.  They 
also  proclaimed  in  almost  every  message  God’s  won¬ 
derful  long  suffering,  and  that  he  would  quickly  for¬ 
give  if  men  would  repent.  Our  knowledge  of  the  excel¬ 
lence  of  God’s  character  would  be  far  less  than  it  is  if 
we  did  not  have  what  the  prophets  said  in  the  messages 
God  gave  them  for  Israel. 

5.  The  prophets  have  been  called  politicians ,  states¬ 
men,  reformers ,  teachers  of  morality.  But  they  were 
such  only  incidentally  as  they  endeavored  to  do  their 
work  as  spokesmen  for  God.  The  political  and  relig¬ 
ious  interests  of  Israel  were  inseparable  from  each 
other  because  as  a  nation  they  had  been  chosen  to 
accomplish  God’s  purpose.  Any  course  that  the  kings 
and  leaders  of  the  people  entered  upon  in  directing  the 
nation  might  be  very  decisive  in  the  achievement  of  the 
nation’s  purpose.  In  such  the  counsel  or  rebuke  of  the 
prophet  would  be  most  needful.  Some  of  the  prophets 
did  a  large  work  in  advising  right  policies  and  urging 
the  kings  to  follow  their  advice,  while  warning  them 
of  the  disaster  that  would  result  from  its  rejection. 

They  were  reformers  because  there  was  so  much 
need  of  turning  the  Israelites  from  wrong  courses, 
because  social  evils  were  so  prevalent  among  all  classes 
of  the  people,  and  because  the  prophets  sought  to  have 
the  people  of  God  conform  their  conduct  more  fully 
to  the  requirements  of  God. 

What  the  prophets  taught  of  morality  was  not  inde¬ 
pendent  of  what  they  taught  of  religion.  The  mutual 
relation  of  the  Israelites  was  determined  by  their  rela¬ 
tion  to  God. 


Ill 


PROPHECY  AS  SCRIPTURE 

In  the  preceding  chapter  there  was  considered  the 
work  of  the  prophets  as  related  to  their  own  times. 
But  Prophecy  had  a  further  and  a  wider  purpose.  Its 
great  truths  were  to  form  an  important  part  of  the 
body  of  sacred  Scriptures. 

It  has  been  insisted  upon,  especially  in  more  recent 
times,  that  we  are  to  find  in  a  prophecy  only  what 
we  may  be  sure  those  who  heard  it  understood;  that 
the  prophets  did  not,  either  consciously  or  uncon¬ 
sciously,  speak  for  the  future;  that  the  work  of  each 
was  an  independent  unit;  that  Messianic  ideas  are 
found  in  the  prophets  only  when  unscientific  methods 
of  interpretation  are  resorted  to  in  order  to  corrobo¬ 
rate  unwarranted  views  to  the  Bible,  but  that  the  pro¬ 
phetic  writers  themselves  intended  no  such  ideas. 

In  order  to  reach  right  conclusions  on  this  point  we 
need  to  consider  both  what  is  probable  and  what  is 
actual. 

i.  The  redemption  that  Christ  wrought  for  man 
when  he  was  on  the  earth  was  the  central  and  the  most 
stupendous  fact  in  all  the  history  of  the  human  race. 
It  stands  out  so  prominent,  so  high,  so  great,  that  all 
else  dwarfs  into  comparative  insignificance.  This 
redemption  was  purposed  by  God  from  the  beginning. 
It  was  not  an  afterthought.  It  was  not  wrought  to 

15 


16 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


take  the  place  of  something  else  that  failed.  Man’s 
Saviour  had  been  provided  before  man  sinned  and 
needed  one.  All  of  history  before  Christ  came  was 
related  to  his  coming;  all  of  history  since  is  related  to 
what  he  accomplished  by  his  coming. 

The  people  of  Israel  was  chosen  to*  be  specially 
God’s,  not  for  their  own  sake,  but  that  through  them 
the  need  of  redemption,  and  the  person  and  work  of 
the  Redeemer  might  be  *set  forth  to  such  an  extent 
that  men  of  all  times  might  understand  and  accept 
Christ  as  Saviour.  This  preparation  was  not  merely 
that  Christ  might  come  into  the  world,  but  that  the 
purpose  of  his  coming  might  be  understood,  and  he 
be  acknowledged  as  the  Saviour  sent  from  God.  Such 
preparation  was  needful,  not  for  the  Jews  only,  but  for 
all  men  so  long  as  there  are  sinful  men  who  need  a 
Saviour.  For  this  reason  the  Old  Testament  Scrip¬ 
tures,  the  oracles  of  God,  were  committed  to  the  Jews. 
They  were  not  written  for  the  Jews  only,  but  for  all 
men,  for  all  times. 

Instead  of  its  being  improbable  that  the  prophets 
would  speak  of  what  was  to  be  realized  at  a  time  long 
after  their  own,  since  they  were  specially  chosen  that 
through  them  God  might  reveal  himself  and  make 
known  his  will  concerning  man,  and  since  the  work  of 
redemption  was  thus  central  in  all  history,  it  is  most 
improbable  that  the  prophets  would  be  silent  on  this 
subject,  and  it  would  have  been  altogether  unaccount¬ 
able  if  they  had  not  given  some  intimations,  if  not  more 
or  less  clear  knowledge,  of  the  purpose  of  God  that  was 
to  be  accomplished  in  the  future,  even  though  that 
future  was  remote. 


Prophecy  as  Scripture 


17 


2.  We  are  not  only  justifiable  in  seeking  to  know 
how  Christ  and  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament 
interpreted  the  contents  of  Prophecy,  but  zve  are  under 
obligation  to  accept  their  interpretation  as  valid.  We 
may  not  doubt  the  testimony  of  the  inspired  writers  of 
the  New  Testament  on  matters  that  determine  our 
knowledge  of  Christ,  and  we  cannot  assert  that  Christ 
was  ignorant  in  matters  concerning  himself  unless  he 
himself  confessed  such  ignorance.  When  he  spoke  we 
must  accept  his  word  as  final.  Of  course  we  must  be 
sure  of  the  real  meaning  of  his  words. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  did  not  use  the  methods  of  scientific  exegesis  in 
their  interpretations  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures, 
and  that  we  should  not  accept  their  views  of  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  these.  But  such  a  position  denies  the  inspiration 
of  the  New  Testament  writers,  and  involves  the  rejec¬ 
tion  of  the  Bible  as  in  a  true  sense  God’s  word. 

It  has  been  said  of  Christ  that  his  kenosis  included 
all  superhuman  knowledge;  that  he  knew  only  what 
he  had  been  taught  by  his  Jewish  teachers,  and  that 
his  views  of  the  Scriptures  were  but  the  views  of  his 
people  and  his  time.  But  his  teaching  was  not  on  a 
level  with  the  teaching  of  his  time.  It  was  so  much 
above  it  that  he  was  acknowledged  to  be  a  Teacher 
sent  from  God.  And  we  must  claim  that  he  could 
not  have  been  mistaken  about  the  meaning  of  the 
Scriptures  that  concerned  himself  as  the  Messiah. 

The  further  assertion  that  Christ  knew  that  the  views 
of  the  Jews  about  their  Scriptures  were  wrong,  but 
instead  of  correcting  them,  used  them  to  confound  the 
Jews  in  his  arguments  with  them,  needs  no  serious 


18 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


refutation.  Those  who  know  him  know  he  would  not 
do  that. 

3.  Many  passages  may  be  cited  from  the  Gospels 
and  the  Epistles  to  show  that  the  zvriters  of  the  New 
Testament  understood  that  the  prophets  spoke  of  what 
was  to  be  true  in  the  Messianic  times.  Not  merely  did 
they  quote  specific  statements  of  the  prophets  as  having 
their  fulfilment  in  the  person  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ, 
but  they  constantly  refer  to  the  Old  Testament  Scrip¬ 
tures  as  having  the  authority  of  God’s  word.  They  did 
not  concern  themselves  especially  to  know  which  of 
the  prophets  uttered  a  particular  prophecy,  they  rather 
regarded  all  of  Prophecy  as  one  whole,  from  which 
they  got  their  proof  that  the  Holy  Spirit  spoke  before¬ 
hand  through  prophets  of  those  facts  and  truths  that 
they  themselves  saw  becoming  actual  in  their  own  time. 

Thus  Matthew  says  the  birth  of  Jesus  was  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  what  the  Lord  had  spoken  by  the  prophet. 
(Matt.  1  :  22.) 

Luke  says,  “  And  hath  raised  up  an  horn  of  salva¬ 
tion  for  us,  in  the  house  of  his  servant  David;  as  he 
spake  by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets  ”  (Luke 
1  :  69,  70). 

John  quotes  Philip  as  saying,  “  We  have  found  him, 
of  whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and  the  prophets  did  write  ” 
(John  1  :  45). 

Peter  said  that  God  had  shewed  by  the  mouth  of  all 
his  prophets  that  Christ  should  suffer.  (Acts  3  :  18.) 

Peter  further  said,  “  Yea,  and  all  the  prophets  from 
Samuel,  and  those  that  follow  after,  as  many  as  have 
spoken,  have  likewise  foretold  of  these  days  ”  (Acts 
3  •  24). 


Prophecy  as  Script 


19 


Paul  declared  that  in  his  continued  witnessing  to  all 
about  Christ  he  had  said  no  other  things  than  those 
which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say  should  come. 
(Acts  26  :  22.)  And  when  Paul  was  in  Rome  he 
testified  the  kingdom  of  God,  persuading  them  con¬ 
cerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses,  and  out 
of  the  prophets.  (Acts  28  :  23.) 

4.  The  testimony  of  Jesus  to  the  prophets  has  still 
greater  weight.  He  said  he  had  not  come  to  destroy 
the  law  or  the  prophets,  but  to  fulfil  them.  (Matt. 
5  :  17)- 

He  told  the  twelve,  “  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem, 
and  all  things  that  are  written  by  the  prophets  con¬ 
cerning  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  accomplished  ”  (Luke 

18  :  3I}‘ 

He  said  to  the  two  disciples  as  they  went  to  Emmaus, 
“  O  foolish  men,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that 
the  prophets  spoke”  (Luke  24  :  25).  “  And  begin¬ 

ning  from  Moses  and  from  all  the  prophets  he  inter¬ 
preted  to  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  con¬ 
cerning  himself.”  (Luke  24  :  27.)  Well  might  these 
disciples  say  to  each  other,  “  Was  not  our  heart  burn¬ 
ing  within  us,  while  he  talked  to  us  in  the  way,  while 
he  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures?  ”  (Luke  24  :  32.) 

5.  This  purpose  of  Prophecy  as  a  part  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  which  were  intended  as  an  aid  to 
understand  Christ  when  he  came,  gives  a  unity  to  the 
various  prophetic  messages  that  they  would  not  other¬ 
wise  have  had.  While  each  prophet  had  a  work  for 
his  own  time,  he  also  had  a  part  in  the  work  for  all 
time.  The  hearers  of  the  prophet,  even  the  prophet 
himself,  may  not  have  fully  understood  the  wider 


20 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


significance  of  any  message,  but  that  fact  does  not  pre¬ 
vent  us  from  believing  that  the  Holy  Spirit  who  was 
speaking  through  the  prophets,  thus  gave  truths  that 
were  parts  of  a  larger  whole. 

When  we  consider  the  work  of  these  prophets  in  its 
special  relation  to  the  needs  of  their  own  times  in  view 
of  this  wider  purpose  of  Prophecy,  it  appears  that  even 
what  was  meant  for  the  special  good  of  the  hearers, 
had  also  a  permanent  value  for  the  instruction  of  the 
readers. 

The  people  of  Israel  were  chosen  that  they  might 
receive  and  transmit  truths  concerning  redemption,  and 
the  instruction  which  they  received  through  the 
prophets,  the  rebukes,  threats,  and  exhortations,  by 
which  they  were  shown  God’s  character  and  will, 
formed  an  important  part  of  these  redemptive  truths. 
Not  only  may  we  see  that  the  lessons  taught  the 
Israelites  are  applicable  to  our  own  times,  but  that 
these  lessons  were  meant  for  our  own  times. 


IV 


THE  THEME  OF  PROPHECY  AS  SCRIPTURE 

The  special  work  of  the  prophets  as  applicable  to 
their  times  and  conditions  has  already  been  consid¬ 
ered.  It  is  intended  in  this  chapter  to  consider  what 
we  find  in  Prophecy  as  a  part  of  the  Scriptures. 

Here  also  we  find  that  all  their  messages  center  about 
the  idea  of  a  people  of  God,  or  as  it  might  be  put,  a 
kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however, 
that  while  the  prophets  spoke  of  a  people  or  kingdom 
that  should  be  in  the  future,  their  teachings  about  that 
people  were  put  in  general  terms ;  they  did  not  attempt 
to  give  in  minute  detail  the  history  of  that  coming 
kingdom*, 

i.  The  fact  that  God  purposed  to  have  a  people  on 
the  earth,  a  people  in  a  real  sense  separate  and  distin¬ 
guishable  from  all  others,  is  made  evident  from  the 
first,  and  this  purpose  was  not  thwarted,  nor  could  it 
be  prevented,  by  the  failure  of  the  Israelites  to  be 
faithful  to  God.  Even  when  Israel,  nominally  God’s, 
turned  from  him  and  worshiped  idols,  when  they  had 
rejected  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  his  prophets  declared 
that  in  that  future  which  they  foresaw  there  would  be 
a  real  people  of  God. 

It  was  natural,  if  not  necessary,  that  prophetic  ref¬ 
erences  to  this  true  people  of  God,  should  be  put  in 
terms  that  fitted  Israel’s  relation  to  Jehovah.  Prob- 

21 


22 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


ably  the  prophets  could  not  have  spoken  to  those  of 
their  own  times  and  have  been  understood,  without 
using  Israelite  terms.  That  people  of  God  of  the  future 
is  thus  called  “  Israel  ” ;  their  home  is  the  “  Holy 
Land  ” ;  their  chief  city  is  “  Zion  ” ;  their  enemies  are 
“  Edom,”  “  Egypt,”  “  Philistia,”  “Assyria,”  and 
“  Babylon.” 

But  the  prophetic  idea  of  God’s  future  people  was 
clearly  larger  than  Israel.  It  was  to  be  a  people  not  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  family  descent,  nor  marked  off  by 
national  barriers.  There  would  be  included  in  it  men 
of  all  nations,  even  of  those  who  had  been  the  per¬ 
petual,  hating  enemies  of  the  Israelites.  There  are  very 
many  passages  that  show  this,  none  perhaps  more  cer¬ 
tainly  than  Isaiah  19  :  24,  25,  where  it  is  declared  that 
Israel  shall  be  one  of  three,  the  other  two  being  Egypt 
and  Assyria,  and  terms  of  close  relationship  to  God 
that  had  been  applied  to  Israel  only,  are  here  applied 
to  these  veteran  enemies  of  Israel.  “  Blessed  be 
Egypt  my  people,  and  Assyria  the  work  of  my  hands, 
and  Israel  mine  inheritance.” 

2.  This  future  people  of  God  would  he  his  by  virtue 
of  the  fact  that  he  would  choose  them  out  of  the  world 
for  himself.  They  would  be  the  objects  of  his  favor, 
the  recipients  of  his  grace.  It  would  be  a  people  whose 
sins  would  be  forgiven  because  of  the  vicarious  suffer¬ 
ing  of  the  Servant  whom  God  would  send.  The 
highest  idea  of  the  work  of  the  suffering  innocent 
One,  through  whom  the  nations  would  be  turned  back 
to  Jehovah,  and  who  would  himself  bear  the  stripes  due 
the  guilty,  is  given  in  the  fifty-third  chapter  of 
Isaiah.  No  interpretation  of  this  wonderful  passage 


The  Theme  of  Prophecy  as  Scripture  23 


that  denies  its  reference  to  Christ  can  ever  be  finally 
acceptable.  Of  the  two  divisions  of  the  Messianic 
ideas  presented  in  the  Old  Testament,  that  of  the 
Sovereign  and  that  of  the  Sufferer,  the  climax  of  the 
latter  is  reached  in  this  passage. 

3.  The  prophetic  assertion  that  a  King  would  reign 
over  this  future  people  of  God  is  not  a  mere  figure  of 
speech  suggested  by  the  fact  of  the  Israelite  kingdom, 
but  rather  the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  established  under 
the  direction  of  Jehovah,  with  a  king  of  his  own  choos¬ 
ing,  that  it  might  be  a  type  of  the  spiritual  kingdom 
still  future.  By  the  character  and  history  of  the 
first  kings  of  Israel  we  learn  what  the  Theocratic,  Mes¬ 
sianic  King  was  to  be,  though  the  reality  far  exceeded 
what  was  thus  foreshadowed. 

The  failures  of  Israel’s  kings  gave  occasion  for 
the  prophets  to  predict  the  coming  of  a  King  who 
would  rule  in  accord  with  the  will  of  God;  who  would 
reign  in  righteousness;  whose  scepter  would  be  one 
of  justice;  whose  sway  would  be  as  wide  as  the  earth; 
a  King  whom  other  kings  would  serve,  and  whose  rule 
would  be  one  of  peace. 

The  two  chief  functions  of  the  Israelite  king  were  to 
be  realized  in  him :  that  of  defender,  and  that  of  judge. 
He  would  defend  his  people  from  all  their  enemies. 
Under  his  reign  they  would  be  secure  from  oppres¬ 
sion.  And  he  would  be  a  just  Judge,  arbitrating  all 
cases  with  equity,  and  rendering  to  each  according  to 
his  deserts. 

This  Messianic  idea  in  its  twofold  aspect  is  a  domi¬ 
nant  one  in  Old  Testament  Prophecy.  Sometimes 
the  Messianic  thought  is  given  only  in  outline  and  very 
c 


24 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


general  terms ;  sometimes,  especially  towards  the  close 
of  the  prophetic  period,  the  delineation  of  the  person 
and  work  of  the  Messiah  stands  out  with  more  clear¬ 
ness.  Yet  all  that  we  get  is  far  less  than  what  was 
revealed  by  the  Messiah  himself  when  he  at  last  came. 
What  is  here  given  is  but  an  introduction  that  we 
might  become  acquainted  with  him  later. 

4.  This  people  of  God  was  to  be  characterized  by 
righteousness ,  justice ,  mercy  or  loving-kindness ,  and 
holiness.  All  these  characteristics  would  result  from 
the  fact  that  they  were  the  people  of  Jehovah,  and 
that  they  were  to  be  like  him.  While  the  Israelites 
were  nominally  God’s  people,  in  character  they  were 
scarcely  different  from  the  nations  about  them  during 
much  of  their  career.  They  were  distinguished  by 
name  as  the  worshipers  of  Jehovah,  though  in  prac¬ 
tise  the  mass  of  them  much  of  the  time  worshiped 
idols.  They  followed  the  formal  ceremonies  of  their 
religious  ritual,  but  too  often  their  worship  was  the 
form  only,  while  in  heart  they  were  far  from  God. 

The  prophets  declared  that  in  the  future  the  people 
of  God  would  have  his  law  written  in  their  hearts ;  that 
they  would  be  faithful  to  Jehovah,  instead  of  for¬ 
saking  him  and  worshiping  the  gods  of  the  heathen. 
There  would  be  none  unholy  among  them.  The  city 
where  they  would  dwell  would  be  called  the  city  of 
righteousness,  and  none  but  those  with  a  character  like 
God’s  would  be  found  in  it. 

In  their  relation  to  the  peoples  about  them  this  people 
of  God  was  to  be  preeminent.  All  the  other  nations 
were  to  be  subservient  to  them.  This  idea  was  espe¬ 
cially  suggested,  and  especially  comforting,  at  a  time 


The  Theme  of  Prophecy  as  Scripture  25 


when  the  Israelites  were  being  ruled  over  by  the 
heathen.  They  were  invaded,  despoiled,  oppressed, 
exiled.  These  conditions  would  not  obtain  in  the  Mes¬ 
sianic  times.  These  terms  are  undoubtedly  figurative, 
yet  there  is  in  them  the  great  truth  that  it  was  God’s 
purpose  that  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be 
made  to  contribute  to  the  glory  of  his  kingdom.  Not 
only  should  the  world  powers  be  prevented  from 
dominating  his  people,  but  his  people  should  be  served 
by  the  world  powers. 


V 


THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  PROPHECY 

The  principles  by  which  Prophecy  is  to  be  inter¬ 
preted  are  for  the  most  part  the  same  as  those  to  be 
followed  in  other  parts  of  the  Bible,  but  because  of 
the  nature  of  the  subject  there  are  in  addition  some 
special  facts  to  be  observed. 

i.  The  interest  of  the  prophet  in  what  was  to  be  in 
the  future  as  well  as  in  what  concerned  his  own  time 
has  already  been  noted.  Not  only  specific  instances 
of  prediction ,  but  the  general  outlook  of  the  prophets 
toward  the  Messianic  times,  involves  the  obligation 
of  interpreting  the  messages  of  the  prophets  with  ref¬ 
erence  to  the  culmination  of,  not  only  Prophecy,  but 
the  entire  Old  Testament  period.  The  claim  that  a 
prophet  could  see  only  what  was  within  his  own  hori¬ 
zon  might  be  admitted  if  we  make  his  horizon  wide 
enough.  A  prophet  could  see  what  the  Holy  Spirit 
showed  to  him,  however  far  off  it  might  be. 

The  claim  that  a  prophet  could  get  only  those 
thoughts  that  were  associated  with,  or  the  outgrowth 
of,  thoughts  that  he  already  had,  that  we  must  limit 
the  meaning  of  his  message  to  what  we  can  under¬ 
stand  was  genetically  connected  with  truths  that  were 
already  held,  practically  denies  the  fact,  or  possibility, 
of  revelation,  and  the  prophets  persistently  claimed 
that  revelations  were  given  to  them. 

26 


The  Interpretation  of  Prophecy  27 


In  interpreting  Prophecy  we  may  well  begin  by  see¬ 
ing  what  our  Lord  and  the  New  Testament  writers 
stated  was  contained  in  it.  There  may  be  much  of 
which  they  did  not  speak,  and  the  meaning  of  which 
we  must  seek  without  such  special  guidance,  but  what 
they  assert  to  be  the  meaning  of  a  prophet’s  words 
gives  us  a  helpful  clue  to  understand  the  rest. 

2.  In  close  connection  with  the  preceding  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  any  prophet ,  or  any  part  of  a  prophet’s  mes¬ 
sage,  is  to  be  interpreted  in  view  of  a  wider  whole. 
The  words  of  the  prophets  are  not  to  be  regarded  as 
isolated,  and  independent  assertions,  or  teachings,  but 
as  parts  of  the  whole  of  Prophecy,  and  this  itself  as  a 
part  of  the  entire  word  of  God. 

In  any  case  of  interpretation  we  need  to  study  the 
context  of  a  passage  to  determine  its  meaning,  and 
here  we  must  take  into  consideration,  not  only  all  that 
the  prophet  which  we  study  said,  but  all  that  the  other 
prophets  may  have  said  that  bears  upon  the  truth  of  the 
special  part  to  be  interpreted.  The  later  prophets  based 
much  of  their  teaching  upon  that  which  the  former 
prophets  had  already  taught;  and  the  earlier  prophets 
at  times  presented  but  a  sketch  of  what  was  to  be 
filled  in  by  those  who  should  come  after  them.  It  is 
most  essential  that  the  general  theme  and  scope  of 
Prophecy  be  got  well  in  mind  in  order  fairly  to  inter¬ 
pret  its  various  parts. 

3.  What  the  prophets  foretold  of  the  future  people 
of  God  was  given  in  general  terms,  not  in  minute 
detail,  except  in  a  comparatively  few  instances.  It  is 
held  by  some  interpreters  that  Prophecy  was  a  fore¬ 
writing  of  history;  that  all  that  the  prophets  spoke  of 


28 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


the  future  was  to  be  literally  fulfilled;  that  we  may 
search  the  prophets  to  find  out  what  is  yet  to  take 
place,  or  to  find  a  prediction  of  what  is  taking  place. 
But  we  would  neither  expect  this,  nor  do  we  find  it  to 
be  the  case. 

The  prophets  told  of  a  true  people  of  God  who 
should  be  faithful  to  him  in  the  end  of  the  days;  they 
portrayed  the  character  of  that  people;  they  gave 
assurance  of  the  preeminence  of  God’s  people  over 
all  opposing  powers;  they  told  of  a  Sufferer  who 
should  accomplish  the  purpose  of  God  who  would  send 
him ;  they  predicted  a  King,  and  described  his  glorious 
reign;  they  declared  his  rule  would  be  without  limit, 
and  unbounded  peace  would  result  from,  it.  But 
these  great  truths  were  given  by  the  prophets  in  gen¬ 
eral  terms.  They  did  not  picture  in  minute  detail  all 
that  would  take  place  in  the  Messianic  times,  nor  give  a 
particular  account  of  all  that  would  be  realized. 

The  claim  that  the  prophets  were  writing  the  details 
of  future  history  has  led  to  the  view  that  since  much 
they  predicted  has  not  been  literally  fulfilled,  they  were 
merely  guessing  about  the  future,  expressing  their  un¬ 
inspired  hopes,  which  were  to  prove  false  ones,  or  else 
that  their  predictions  are  yet  to  be  so  fulfilled,  however 
impossible  such  fulfilment  may  seem  to  be.  Thus  not 
only  are  the  Jews  to  be  restored  to  Palestine,  and 
their  city  to  be  rebuilt,  but  the  temple  and  its  entire 
system  of  sacrifices  will  be  seen  again  in  Jerusalem. 
Since  Babylon  was  not  destroyed  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  prediction  of  the  prophets,  it  shall  be  rebuilt 
so  that  it  may  thus  be  destroyed. 

It  has  well  been  pointed  out  that  we  should  look  to 


The  Interpretation  of  Prophecy 


29 


the  New  Testament  for  the  latest  and  fullest  word 
about  the  destiny  of  the  Jews. 

4.  Some  prophecies  were  conditional.  The  words 
of  the  prophets  that  are  of  the  nature  of  predictions 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes :  threats  and  promises. 
Threats  were  made  against  both  the  Israelites  and 
the  outside  nations.  Almost  all  of  those  against  the 
heathen  were  because  of  their  hostility  toward  God’s 
people ;  were  never  meant  for  the  ears  of  the  heathen, 
with  some  exceptions,  and  were  merely  intended  for 
teaching  the  Israelites  themselves :  showing  them  God’s 
hatred  of  sin,  that  it  would  be  punished,  and  assuring 
them  that  their  God  would  protect  them  from  the 
oppression  of  the  enemies. 

Threats  against  the  Israelites  were  intended  to  turn 
them  from  sin  and  to  lead  to  their  repentance.  If 
such  repentance  followed  the  prophet’s  message,  the 
punishment  threatened  would  of  course  be  averted, 
and  the  prediction  in  form  would  be  unfulfilled.  The 
condition  upon  which  the  predicted  calamity  might  be 
averted  was  not  always  stated.  But  if  the  threat  was 
to  secure  repentance,  the  conditional  character  of  it 
was  necessarily  implied. 

It  seems  that  in  some  cases  the  people  had  persisted 
in  sin  for  so  long  a  time  that  no  degree  of  repentance 
would  be  able  to  secure  their  escape  from  punishment. 
Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  special  calamities  sent  upon 
the  Israelites  as  judgments  from  God  for  sin  were 
intended  for  didactic  purposes.  They  were  to  teach 
great  lessons  meant  for  all  ages,  and  at  times  the 
repentance  of  Israel  would  have  come  too  late  to  stop 
the  teaching  of  such  lessons. 


30 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


Promises  were  made  to  God’s  people  only,  or  to  those 
besides  who  were  willing  to  identify  themselves  with 
his  people.  These  promises  were  likewise  often  con¬ 
ditional,  though  the  mercy  of  God  was  so  great,  and 
his  redemptive  purposes  were  so  eternal,  that  even  the 
faithlessness  of  the  chosen  people  could  not  prevent 
the  fulfilment  of  his  promises.  Thus  the  promise  of 
a  Saviour  from  sin  could  not  be  conditioned  upon  the 
goodness  of  the  Israelites.  Sin  itself  was  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  his  coming. 

In  the  absence  of  any  expressed  condition  accom¬ 
panying  either  threat  or  promise,  there  is  need  of 
special  care  in  the  interpretation  to  decide  whether  the 
prophecy  is  conditional  or  not.  Each  instance  must  be 
decided  by  itself. 

5.  Prophecy  abounds  in  figurative  language.  Almost 
all  of  the  writings  of  the  prophets  are  in  the  form 
of  poetry.  This  must  be  taken  into  account  in  deter¬ 
mining  its  meaning.  Besides  the  specially  elevated  style 
of  composition  common  to  all  poetry,  we  find  very 
abundant  figures  of  speech  used  by  the  prophets. 
Especially  is  this  to  be  noted  in  what  they  say  of  the 
future. 

They  were  speaking  in  Old  Testament  times  under 
conditions  that  then  obtained,  and  they  used  terms  sug¬ 
gested  by  such  conditions,  and  which  alone  could  have 
been  understood  by  their  hearers.  Thus  they  spoke  of 
Israel,  meaning  God’s  people  of  whatever  blood;  of 
Zion,  meaning  the  place  where  God  dwelt  among  his 
people;  Egypt,  Edom,  Babylon,  and  the  rest,  meaning 
the  enemies  of  God’s  people  wherever  they  might  be 
found,  or  to  whatever  nation  they  might  belong.  They 


The  Interpretation  of  Prophecy 


31 


spoke  of  returning  from  exile  at  times  when  their 
words  involved  much  more  than  a  literal  return  of  the 
Jews  from  Babylon.  The  splendor  of  Solomon’s  reign 
is  used  by  the  prophet  to  furnish  terms  to  portray  the 
splendor  and  preeminence  of  the  people  of  God,  though 
this  was  never  to  be  realized  literally,  but  shall  be 
most  fully  in  a  spiritual  sense. 

Here  too,  whether  the  language  is  to  be  understood 
literally  or  figuratively  must  be  determined  by  the  com 
text,  and  by  a  full  study  of  the  whole  theme  and  scope 
of  Prophecy. 

6.  It  has  been  seen  that  a  large  part  of  the  work  of 
a  prophet  grew  out  of  the  needs  and  conditions  of  his 
own  times.  In  order  to  understand  the  meaning  of 
this  part  of  a  prophet’s  words  we  must  put  ourselves 
so  far  as  possible  in  the  times  of  the  prophet.  It  is 
necessary  to  consider  the  historical  setting  of  the 
prophecy  in  order  to  discover  its  exact  meaning.  This 
is  true  of  almost  all  the  prophets.  Sometimes,  how¬ 
ever,  the  theme  of  the  prophet  is  so  general  in  character 
that  its  truth  remains  of  equal  value  whatever  its  time 
of  delivery. 

Much  help  is  got  for  understanding  the  prophets 
from  the  historical  books.  The  weakness  of  a  king ;  the 
idolatry  prevalent  among  the  people;  the  faithlessness 
and  crimes  of  the  leaders;  the  approach  of  an  enemy; 
the  attempts  to  form  alliances  with  the  heathen  nations, 
and  the  amount  of  success  achieved  in  attempted 
reforms,  are  to  be  taken  into  consideration  in  order 
to  interpret  correctly  the  messages  of  the  prophets. 


VI 


PROPHECY  IN  RELATION  TO 
ISRAEL’S  HISTORY 

Only  a  brief  sketch  of  the  work  of  the  prophets  in 
their  relation  to  the  history  of  the  Israelites  is  purposed 
in  this  chapter.  A  complete  consideration  of  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  Prophecy  would  involve  a  study  of  what  has 
been  termed  the  “  preprophetic  period.”  Many  funda¬ 
mental  truths  were  taught  during  this  time,  truths 
that  were  elaborated  and  added  to  by  the  writing 
prophets.  No  one  indeed  surpassed  Moses  in  the  qual¬ 
ities  that  distinguish  the  Old  Testament  prophets.  God 
communicated  to  him  directly  some  of  the  highest 
conceptions  of  his  own  character,  and  the  laws  and 
principles  of  the  relations  that  existed  between  Jehovah 
and  his  chosen  people. 

It  was  promised  through  Moses  that  prophets  would 
be  raised  up  after  Moses  should  be  taken  away,  who 
would  instruct  the  Israelites  in  their  duties  toward  God 
and  each  other.  Before  the  time  of  the  monarchy  these 
promised  prophets  do  not  seem  to  have  been  frequent* 
nor  their  work  of  very  great  significance.  After  that 
time  the  prophetic  institution  became  of  prime  impor¬ 
tance. 

i.  About  the  time  of  the  transition  from  the  Judges 
to  the  Kings,  the  need  of  special  messengers  from  God 
became  imperative.  The  priests  had  been  appointed, 
32 


Prophecy  in  Relation  to  Israel’s  History  33 


not  only  to  officiate  at  the  altar,  but  also  as  the  religious 
teachers  of  the  people.  But  the  priests  themselves  had 
become  corrupt;  they  were  often  chief  among  the  sin¬ 
ners  of  the  Israelites.  Their  failure  may  have  been 
due  in  part  to  the  lack  of  support  by  the  rest  of  the 
tribes.  Tithes  were  withheld,  and  sacrifices  were  not 
offered.  Their  failure  gave  occasion  for  bringing  into 
prominence  the  prophetic  institution,  which  was 
appointed  of  God,  not  merely  to  make  good  that  in 
respect  to  which  the  priests  had  failed,  but  to  reveal 
with  greater  fulness  the  character  of  God  and  his  will. 
Samuel  is  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  so-called 
“  schools  of  the  prophets.”  There  were,  however, 
prophets  before  his  day.  His  great  work  as  prophet 
was  to  encourage  these  schools  and  to  regulate  their 
activity. 

2.  In  the  days  of  Ahab  the  northern  kingdom  had 
adopted  the  worship  of  Baal  so  generally  that  the 
worship  of  Jehovah  was  almost  excluded.  There 
were  but  relatively  few  that  remained  faithful  to  the 
God  of  their  fathers.  The  two  prophets  Elijah  and 
Elisha  were  raised  up  to  endeavor  to  bring  Israel  back 
to  the  faithful  service  of  Jehovah.  The  work  of  each 
supplemented  that  of  the  other.  Elijah,  by  condemna¬ 
tion  and  punishment,  sought  to  arouse  the  people  to  a 
consciousness  of  their  sin,  while  Elisha  followed  with 
repeated  assurances  of  God’s  readiness  to  show  mercy 
if  they  would  repent.  There  was  but  a  temporary 
check  given  to  the  downward  course  of  the  rebellious 
people.  There  were,  however,  some  great  truths  added 
to  the  contents  of  prophetic  teaching.  Elijah  was 
shown  on  Horeb  that  the  real  people  of  God,  the  true 


34 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


Israel,  were  those  who  were  faithful  to  Jehovah,  and 
that  they  would  abide  after  the  sinners  of  the  chosen 
people  were  destroyed.  Through  the  beneficent  mir¬ 
acles  of  Elisha  there  was  taught  the  truth  of  perma¬ 
nent  worth,  that  the  mercy  of  God  was  unbounded. 
He  would  bruise,  but  he  would  also  bind  up. 

3.  During  the  time  that  the  Israelites ,  both  the 
northern  and  the  southern  kingdom,  were  in  contact 
with  the  Assyrian  power ,  called  the  “  Assyrian  ”  period 
in  Israel’s  history,  the  prophets  that  were  chiefly  impor¬ 
tant  were  Amos  and  Ho  sea  in  the  North  and  Isaiah 
and  Micah  in  the  South. 

The  reign  of  Jeroboam  II  was  exceedingly  pros¬ 
perous.  Riches  were  abundant,  luxury  was  every¬ 
where,  and  there  was  consequent  wickedness.  The 
people  gave  themselves  up  to  the  gratification  of  all  sen¬ 
suous  appetites,  and  the  poor  were  especially  oppressed 
by  the  avarice  of  the  rich  and  strong.  Amos  was 
sent  from  Judah  to  condemn  the  northern  sinners  for 
their  crimes,  and  to  warn  them  of  imminent  punish¬ 
ment.  They  were  secure  in  the  belief  that  the  “  day 
of  Jehovah  ”  predicted  by  Joel  would  come  with 
destruction  for  the  heathen  nations  only.  Amos  assured 
them  that  Israelite  sinners  would  perish  like  the  rest. 
Being  God’s  chosen  people  would  not  save  them. 

Hosea  prophesied  during  the  same  conditions,  and 
had  in  part  a  message  like  that  of  Amos,  but  as  a  back¬ 
ground  for  the  portrayal  of  the  blackness  of  their  sin 
and  the  terribleness  of  the  coming  calamity  he  set  forth 
in  strongest  terms  the  wonderful  love  that  Jehovah 
had  shown  them  from  the  first.  But  since  God’s  love 
had  been  spurned  by  them,  the  punishment  they  de- 


Prophecy  in  Relation  to  Israel’s  History  35 


served  was  all  the  greater.  Hosea  preached  God’s  love, 
but  his  threats  were  terrific. 

The  greater  part  of  the  work  of  the  two  prophets 
Isaiah  and  Micah  in  Judah  centers  about  the  reign  of 
Ahaz,  who  sought  an  alliance  with  Assyria  against  his 
two  enemies  Israel  and  Aramea,  and  the  reign  of  Heze- 
kiah,  who  was  attacked  by  Sennacherib  because  the 
customary  tribute  from  Judah  was  withheld.  The 
refusal  of  Ahaz  to  trust  Jehovah  gave  occasion  for 
severe  denunciation  by  Isaiah,  and  the  prediction  that 
destruction  would  come  upon  Judah.  But  the  king’s 
infidelity  also  led  to  the  prophet’s  prediction  that  God 
would  raise  up  a  true  King.  Hezekiah’s  refusal  to 
yield  to  the  demands  of  the  Assyrian  king  who  had 
already  captured  some  of  the  cities  of  Judah,  but  who 
was  not  content  with  less  than  the  complete  surrender 
of  Jerusalem,  was  most  likely  due  to  the  encourage¬ 
ment  given  him  by  Isaiah.  The  help  of  Jehovah  was 
never  promised  with  greater  assurance  than  in  this  dark 
hour  of  Judah’s  threatened  downfall.  Micah’s  proph¬ 
ecies  were  likewise  in  great  part  occasioned  by  the 
immanence  of  Assyria’s  blow. 

4.  In  what  is  called  the  “  Babylonian  ”  period  there 
remained  the  kingdom  of  Judah  only.  Israel  had 
fallen  in  722.  About  a  hundred  years  later  the  fall  of 
the  Assyrian  power,  which  had  been  dominant  in  the 
east  for  many  centuries,  was  succeeded  by  the  suprem¬ 
acy  of  Babylon.  This  power  lasted  but  a  short  time, 
but  it  was  a  very  mighty  force  in  determining  the 
destiny  of  Judah.  The  end  of  this  kingdom  was  now 
near.  The  sins  of  many  generations  were  at  last  to  be 
punished  by  the  captivity  of  the  chosen  people,  the 


36 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


destruction  of  their  holy  temple  and  the  desolation  of 
their  sacred  city. 

At  this  time  Jeremiah  in  Judah  and  Ezekiel  among 
those  already  carried  captive  were  chief  of  those  who 
prophesied  to  the  kings  and  common  people.  Their 
work  differs  in  its  special  character  from  that  of  the 
prophets  who  had  preceded  them.  Very  many  of  the 
messages  of  each  grew  out  of  the  personal  experiences 
through  which  they  passed.  The  truths  they  pro¬ 
claimed,  the  lessons  they  taught,  form  an  important 
part  of  Prophecy.  The  minor  prophets  Habakkuk  and 
Obadiah  emphasized  special  truths  that  were  pertinent 
to  this  critical  time. 

It  was  just  in  the  midst  of  the  ruin  of  Judah,  when 
there  seemed  no  prospect  but  one  of  final  defeat,  that 
Daniel  prophesied  of  the  overthrow  of  the  world 
powers  and  of  the  glorious  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

5.  After  the  Jews  had  returned  to  Jerusalem  to 
rebuild  their  temple,  the  special  work  that  the  prophets 
had  to  do  was  to  give  them  encouragement  in  the  face 
of  weakness,  poverty,  and  the  hostility  of  their  enemies. 
Haggai  and  Zechariah  were  especially  concerned  with 
the  work  on  the  temple.  Malachi  sought  to  check  the 
tendency  of  the  Jews  to  intermarry  with  the  heathen, 
and  he  condemned  those  who  denied  the  importance 
of  serving  Jehovah.  The  work  of  all  these  post- 
exilic  prophets  was  needed  to  keep  distinctly  in  the 
minds  of  the  chosen  people  that  they  were  a  separate 
nation,  Jehovah’s  special  possession. 

6.  The  work  of  the  prophets  is  thus  seen  to  be  inti¬ 
mately  connected  with  the  history  of  Israel.  It  is  not 


Prophecy  in  Relation  to  Israel’s  History  37 


something  apart  from,  an  addition  to,  the  manifesta¬ 
tion  of  the  purpose  of  God  in  his  dealings  with  his  peo¬ 
ple.  The  threats  and  promises  of  the  prophets  arose 
from  the  moral  and  political  condition  of  the  Israelites. 
We  learn  from  both  the  historical  condition  and  the 
prophecy  occasioned  by  it  what  Jehovah  revealed  con¬ 
cerning  himself  and  what  he  demands  of  man.  We  are 
taught  by  his  act  and  by  his  prophetic  word  that  he 
will  punish  sin,  which  he  hates,  and  that  his  mercy  is 
beyond  expression  in  words.  Old  Testament  Prophecy 
stands  out  preeminent,  towering  above  all  else  that  was 
given  to  aid  us  in  understanding  Christ,  but  it  stood 
amid  the  every-day  doings  of  the  Israelites.  It  con¬ 
tinually  interpreted  to  Israel  the  meaning  of  what 
God  sent  upon  them,  warned  them  of  the  results  of 
their  sins,  and  exhorted  them  to  righteousness.  The 
messages  of  the  prophets  abide  as  the  fullest  revelation 
that  God  made  before  his  final  revelation  in  Christ. 
They  demand  and  they  will  reward  the  most  careful 
and  sympathetic  study. 


PART  II 


A  STUDY  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL 

PROPHETS 


I 


ISAIAH 

Parallel  Reading:  2  Kings  14  to  21;  2  Chronicles 
26  to  33;  Micah;  Hosea;  Amos. 

1.  Date  and  Occasion 

The  exact  date  of  the  beginning  of  Isaiah’s  work 
is  not  known,  but  it  was  before  Uzziah  died.  (1  :  1.) 
He  continued  to  prophesy  at  intervals  until  the  close 
of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  possibly  was  slain  by  the 
next  king,  Manasseh.  A  period  of  about  forty  years, 
740-698  B.  C. 

Judah  was  flourishing  in  the  reign  of  Uzziah,  or 
as  he  is  otherwise  called,  Azariah.  Wealth  there,  as  in 
Israel  under  Jeroboam  II,  produced  wickedness,  vice, 
oppression.  Jotham  is  classed  among  the  better  kings 
of  Judah,  but  some  of  the  rebukes  of  Isaiah  were  caused 
by  the  sin  of  his  reign.  Ahaz  was  the  worst  king  Judah 
had  because  he  deliberately  chose  to  trust  in  a  heathen 
power  instead  of  Jehovah.  The  destiny  of  Judah 
was  largely  determined  by  the  infidelity  of  Ahaz.  His 
unwise  policy  of  seeking  help  from  Assyria  led  to 
Judah’s  becoming  tributary  to  Assyria.  Much  that  we 
have  in  Isaiah  was  occasioned  by  the  sins  of  this  reign. 
The  remarkable  Immanuel  prophecy  (7  to  12)  was 
made  the  day  Ahaz  rejected  Jehovah.  This  wicked 

41 


42 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


king  was  succeeded  by  his  good  son,  Hezekiah.  His 
attempted  reforms  were  probably  encouraged  by  Isaiah. 
His  kingdom  was  threatened  by  the  invasion  of  the 
Assyrians  under  Sennacherib.  These  two  prominent 
features  occasioned  many  of  the  important  messages  of 
Isaiah.  Thus  very  much  of  the  book  of  Isaiah  was 
due  to  the  political  and  religious  condition  of  Judah  in 
the  reigns  of  the  two  important  kings,  Ahaz  and 
Hezekiah. 

The  northern  kingdom  came  to  an  end  while  Heze¬ 
kiah  was  king  of  Judah,  722  B.  C.,  but  before  it 
fell  Isaiah  was  interested  in  its  religious  condition. 
His  work  included  threats  against  these  Israelite  sin¬ 
ners.  The  prophecies  of  Hosea  and  Amos  help  us  to 
understand  what  it  was  that  Isaiah  had  to  condemn 
in  the  northern  kingdom.  Both  Israel  and  Judah  were 
the  people  of  Jehovah.  The  apostasy  of  Israel  con¬ 
cerned  the  prophet  of  Judah.  Crimes  of  all  kinds 
were  committed  by  the  people.  Idol  worship  in  forms 
practised  by  all  the  surrounding  heathen  was  adopted 
by  the  Israelites,  north  and  south.  Idolatry  was  worse 
in  Israel,  but  prevalent  in  Judah.  Such  conditions, 
political,  social,  religious,  characterized  the  time  of 
Isaiah,  and  they  must  be  kept  in  mind  in  studying 
his  prophecies. 

Judging  from  what  we  have  in  his  book  he  was  not 
prophesying  all  the  time.  There  seem  to  have  been 
intervals  of  several  years  between  some  of  his  mes¬ 
sages  during  which  he  was  silent.  The  dates  of  the 
prophecies  cannot  be  determined  in  many  cases,  except 
approximately.  A  few  of  them  are  dated.  Thus  we 
know  the  occasion  of  their  delivery.  Some  can  be 


Isaiah 


43 


placed  by  internal  evidence.  When  we  know  the  date, 
we  can  better  understand  the  message. 

2.  The  Divisions  of  the  Book 

The  book  is  made  up  of  a  collection  of  prophecies 
delivered  at  different  times.  Some  of  the  prophecies 
form  only  a  chapter,  or  but  part  of  a  chapter,  some 
of  his  messages  make  a  number  of  chapters.  Thus 
chapter  5  is  a  separate  prophecy;  so  is  chapter  6. 
The  contents  of  the  six  chapters,  7  to  12,  seem  to  be 
practically  all  of  one  discourse,  at  least  so  far  as  the 
chief  thought  is  concerned. 

These  various  prophecies  may  be  arranged  in  groups 
for  convenience  of  study. 

The  entire  book  is  divided  into  two  parts,  chs.  1  to 
39,  and  40  to  66.  There  are  easily  recognized  differ¬ 
ences  between  the  thought,  outlook,  purpose,  teaching, 
and  style  of  these  two  parts. 

In  part  one,  chs.  1  to  39,  we  find  prominent :  Charge 
of  sins;  rebuke  for  crimes;  threats  of  punishment, 
including  even  the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom,  because 
the  people  have  forsaken  Jehovah.  The  prophet  is 
deeply  interested  in  what  he  sees  going  on  about  him. 
Only  occasionally  he  lifts  his  eyes  to  the  future  and 
speaks  of,  a  brighter  time.  The  key-word  of  the 
Prophet,  even  while  he  threatens,  is,  however,  the 
word  “  Remnant.”  There  would  be  destruction,  but 
not  total. 

In  part  two,  chs.  40  to  66,  what  we  find  of  charge  of 
sin  is  made  in  order  to  explain  the  punishment  that 
had  come,  or  was  seen  as  having  come,  upon  the  chosen 
people.  The  time  of  affliction  is  regarded  as  passed, 


44 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


the  time  of  favor  has  come.  God  was  about  to  visit 
his  people  and  deliver  them  from  the  results  of  their 
sins  and  from  their  sin. 

In  the  first  part  the  actual  condition  of  Israel  at  the 
time  is  most  prominent  in  the  prophet’s  mind;  the 
future  Messianic  times  are  only  occasionally  presented. 

In  the  second  part  the  Messianic  times  are  the  chief 
theme,  while  the  present  actual  condition  of  Israel  is 
incidental. 

In  the  first  part  the  Messianic  idea  is  that  of  King. 
In  the  second  part  it  is  that  of  Sufferer.  In  the  first 
God’s  people  are  oppressed,  invaded,  exiled;  in  the 
second,  restored,  prosperous,  triumphant,  dominant. 

In  the  first  part  the  style  suggests  oral  speech,  deliv¬ 
ered  to  the  assembled  people  in  the  midst  of  stirring 
times.  In  the  second  part  we  find  calm,  consecutive 
composition,  with  elaborately  sustained  argument. 

These  differences  give  evidence  for  the  view  of  a 
diverse  authorship,  but  they  do  not  prove  it.  Other 
facts  are  cited  for  oneness  of  authorship.  The  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  book  for  us  remains  practically  the  same 
on  either  view.  We  will  lose  none  of  the  rich  truth  of 
these  prophecies  if  we  read  them  as  Isaiah’s.  We  will 
gain  much  of  the  evidence  furnished  by  the  power  of 
Jehovah  to  predict,  if  we  place  the  whole  in  the 
days  of  Isaiah. 

See  especially  chapters  44, 45,  and  48,  where  the  claim 
that  Jehovah  is  the  only  God  is  argued  from  the  fact 
that  he  alone  can  predict.  The  facts  here  mentioned 
must  have  been  so  far  in  the  future  at  the  time  they 
were  foretold  that  the  prophet  could  not  have  merely 
guessed  they  would  come  to  pass. 


Isaiah 


45 


(i)  The  first  part  of  the  book  may  be  subdivided 
into  the  following  sections : 

a.  Chapters  i  to  1 1.  Of  these  ch.  i  is  an  introduc¬ 
tion  to  the  entire  book,  giving  a  summary  of  the  main 
thought  of  Isaiah:  rebuke  for  sins;  threatened  pun¬ 
ishment,  and  promise  of  God’s  favor.  The  sudden 
transition  from  charge  and  condemnation  to  exhorta¬ 
tion  and  promise  is  found  in  many  places  in  Isaiah. 

Chs.  2  to  4  form  one  message,  beginning  with  a 
prediction  of  a  time  when  all  nations  would  serve 
Jehovah,  and  then  exhorting  Israel  to  be  faithful  to 
him,  with  the  threat  that  all  their  wicked  haughtiness 
would  be  brought  low,  and  ending  with  a  prediction  of 
a  purified  people  with  Jehovah  dwelling  among  them. 

Ch.  5  sets  forth  God’s  disappointment  in  his  people 
from  whom  he  had  expected  righteousness.  Woes 
are  pronounced  upon  various  classes  of  sinners  with  a 
threat  of  the  nation’s  fall. 

Ch.  6  gives  the  vision  the  prophet  saw  by  which  he 
was  impressed  with  the  thought  of  God’s  holiness  and 
his  people’s  sinfulness,  and  showing  the  mercy  of  God 
who  cleansed  the  prophet  of  his  sin. 

Chs.  7  to  12  contain  the  Immanuel  prophecy,  occa¬ 
sioned  by  the  refusal  of  Ahaz  to  accept  the  prophet’s 
offer  of  help  from  Jehovah,  because  he  was  look¬ 
ing  for  help  from  Assyria,  to  whose  king  he  had 
sent  a  bribe  when  he  was  threatened  by  the  com¬ 
bined  powers  of  Israel  and  Syria.  The  chief  points 
of  the  prophecy  are  found  in  ch.  7,  where  the  birth  of 
the  Immanuel  is  told  to  Ahaz,  who,  however,  is  threat¬ 
ened  with  punishment  because  he  would  not  trust  Jeho¬ 
vah;  in  ch.  9,  where  the  character  of  the  coming  King 


46 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


Immanuel  is  given,  and  in  ch.  n,  where  the  character 
and  peaceful  effects  of  his  reign  are  foretold.  In  ch.  8 
there  is  a  message  to  the  people  of  an  import  similar 
to  that  given  to  the  king  in  the  preceding  chapter.  In 
both  cases  the  prophecy  takes  on  a  twofold  aspect : 
assurance  is  given  that  the  people  cannot  perish  because 
God  is  with  them,  as  the  name  Immanuel  shows,  but 
the  desolation  of  the  land  is  also  announced.  In  ch. 
10  it  is  declared  that  the  Assyrians  would  be  used  as 
God’s  agent  to  punish  his  people,  and  that  the  Assyrians 
would  themselves  be  punished.  In  chs.  n  and  12  is 
given  a  prediction  of  the  restoration  of  the  people,  and 
their  triumph,  like  that  over  the  Egyptians  when  they 
came  out  of  Egypt. 

b.  Chapters  13  to  23.  This  group  of  prophecies  is 
almost  entirely  concerned  with  the  heathen  nations, 
delivered  at  various  dates,  but  collected  and  put  by 
themselves.  In  most  cases  the  complete  destruction  of 
the  nation  mentioned  is  foretold.  They  are  to  be  pun¬ 
ished  because  of  hostility  towards  God’s  people.  These 
messages  were  not  expected  to  reach  the  peoples  named, 
but  were  intended  as  comfort  to  the  Israelites,  whose 
enemies  would  thus  perish,  and  to  teach  the  permanent 
lesson  that  enmity  to  God  will  be  punished. 

Babylon  and  Egypt  are  prominent  in  this  number 
of  heathen  nations.  The  description  of  the  fall  of 
Moab  is  graphic.  It  is  declared  that  Egypt  will  turn  to 
Jehovah  after  her  punishment,  a  most  remarkable 
prophecy.  The  small  neighboring  peoples  are  espe¬ 
cially  condemned  because  they  showed  hate  toward 
Israel  instead  of  friendship. 

c.  Chapters  24  to  35.  In  this  group  are  prophecies 


Isaiah 


47 


most  difficult  to  understand.  They  have  in  part  an 
apocalyptic  character,  and  the  connection  of  thought 
is  by  no  means  clear. 

Chs.  24  to  27  are  to  some  extent  connected  with 
the  preceding  group  and  contain  a  threat  of  punish¬ 
ment  upon  the  whole  world.  The  description  of  the 
destruction  in  chapter  24  is  terrific.  Then  ch.  25 
shows  that  salvation  will  come  to  the  nations  after 
their  punishment.  Ch.  26  gives  the  song  of  triumph  by 
Israel,  God’s  chosen  people,  and  ch.  27  shows  that 
Israel,  though  desolated,  will  flourish  again. 

Chs.  28  to  33  contain  woes  pronounced  against  God’s 
people,  which  were  prophesied  at  various  times  by 
Isaiah.  The  condemnation  and  threats  are  severe 
because  they  have  sinned  against  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel.  But  even  in  the  midst  of  such  denunciation 
there  is  held  out  the  hope  of  mercy  from  Jehovah. 
Isaiah  seldom  delivered  a  message  that  did  not  have 
some  comfort  in  it.  It  is  declared  that  the  peoples  to 
whom  Israel  looked  for  help  should  themselves  per¬ 
ish.  God  alone  would  make  his  people  strong. 

Chs.  34  and  35  may  be  taken  together  as  giving  in 
contrast  the  most  terrible  destruction  that  was  to  come 
upon  the  heathen,  especially  Edom,  and  the  glad  resto¬ 
ration  of  God’s  people  from  captivity.  The  land  of  the 
enemy  shall  forever  lie  waste,  the  land  of  Israel  shall 
blossom  abundantly.  In  this  case  as  in  most  of  those 
where  outside  nations  are  mentioned,  Edom  may  be 
taken  as  representative  of  the  enemies  of  God’s  people. 
The  prophecy  would  have  its  fulfilment  in  the  punish¬ 
ment  of  any  people  that  persisted  in  hostility  towards 
the  people  of  God. 


48 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


d.  Chapters  36  to  39.  This  may  be  regarded  as  a 
sort  of  appendix  to  the  first  part  of  the  book.  It  is 
simple  history,  rather  than  prophecy  of  the  usual  char¬ 
acter.  It  gives  an  account  of  the  invasion  by  the  Assyr¬ 
ian  king  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah;  the  message  of 
assurance  given  by  Isaiah  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of 
Hezekiah;  the  account  of  the  king’s  illness  and  recov¬ 
ery,  and  of  the  embassy  that  came  from  Babylon  to 
congratulate  him  on  his  recovery,  with  the  rebuke  of 
the  prophet  because  Hezekiah  had  shown  a  willingness 
to  form  an  alliance  with  Babylon. 

This  division  is  pertinent  here  because  it  shows  how 
Judah  came  into  contact  with  Babylon,  and  gives  the 
prediction  that  Babylon  should  at  last  take  Judah  cap¬ 
tive.  This  prepares  the  way  for  the  second  part  of 
Isaiah,  in  which  the  captivity  is  assumed  as  a  back¬ 
ground  for  the  promises  of  restoration,  which  is  a 
chief  thought  of  the  second  part. 

(2)  The  second  part  of  Isaiah  is  divided  into  three 
groups  of  nine  chapters  each :  40  to  48 ;  49  to  5 7 ;  58  to 
66  .  There  is  a  common  refrain  at  the  end  of  each  of 
these  divisions. 

The  theme  of  the  whole  of  this  part  is  found  in  ch. 
40:  the  announcement  that  God  is  coming  to  deliver 
his  people.  This  is  given  at  first  in  general  terms. 
Then  the  prophet  shows  that  God’s  coming  will  be  in 
the  person  of  a  Deliverer,  and  that  he  is  coming  to 
rescue  his  people  from  oppression.  The  real  thought 
here  is  that  of  a  spiritual  deliverance,  which  had  its 
fulfilment  in  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  teaching 
of  Isaiah  here  is  not  surpassed  in  the  Old  Testament, 
a.  In  the  first  group  of  this  part,  chs.  40-48,  chief 


Isaiah 


49 


emphasis  is  put  upon  the  fact  of  deliverance.  The 
prediction  of  the  work  of  Cyrus  in  delivering  Israel 
from  captivity  forms  an  important  part  of  this  thought, 
but  it  is  not  this  deliverance  that  is  the  chief  thing  in 
the  mind  of  the  prophet.  Cyrus  and  his  work  illus¬ 
trated  the  greater  deliverance  that  would  be  wrought 
by  the  greater  Deliverer. 

The  term  “  servant  ”  occurring  in  these  chapters  is 
used  in  two  or  three  ways.  Sometimes  it  means  the 
whole  people  of  Israel,  sometimes  the  true  people  of 
God  called  Israel,  and  sometimes  an  individual  distin¬ 
guished  from  Israel,  for  whom  he  is  to  do  a  work. 
This  use  is  found  in  chapter  49  also. 

Special  comfort  is  given  in  chs.  40,  41,  43,  because 
God  will  deliver  his  people  from  their  affliction.  He 
will  be  with  them  and  protect  them.  Ch.  42  describes 
the  work  of  the  servant  in  general  terms.  In  chs. 
44  and  45  it  is  declared  that  God  would  raise  up  Cyrus 
to  cause  his  people  to  return  to  their  land  and  build 
their  temple.  It  is  said  that  this  is  predicted  in  order 
that  Cyrus  might  know  that  he  was  victorious  by  the 
help  of  Jehovah. 

Chs.  46  and  47  give  assurance  of  the  fall  of  Baby¬ 
lon  the  oppressor  of  God’s  people.  In  the  first  part  of 
ch.  46  occurs  one  of  those  frequent  instances  of  teach¬ 
ing  by  contrast  that  Isaiah  uses.  The  people  of  the 
idols  carry  their  idols,  Jehovah  carries  his  people.  Ch. 
48  shows  the  chief  purpose  of  prediction :  to  give  evi¬ 
dence  that  Jehovah  was  the  true  God,  and  that  there 
was  no  other  god. 

b.  Chapters  49-57.  In  this  division  the  greatest 
thought  is  that  of  the  Deliverer,  in  ch.  53.  But  the 


50 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


great  love  of  God  for  his  people  is  emphasized  in  it  all. 
In  ch.  49  we  find  the  thought,  afterwards  so  fully 
developed,  that  the  Servant  seems  at  first  to  fail, 
though  at  last  he  is  to  triumph.  This  reaches  its  climax 
in  ch.  53,  where  the  seeming  defeat  reaches  even  to 
death,  but  the  sufferer  succeeds,  not  in  spite  of  death 
merely,  but  by  means  of  it.  This  is  the  only  place  in 
the  Old  Testament  where  the  idea  of  vicarious  suffer¬ 
ing  is  so  plainly  taught  in  words.  The  same  truth  was 
taught  in  all  the  bloody  sacrifices. 

In  chs.  51  and  52,  Zion  is  called  to  arise  because  her 
deliverance  is  at  hand.  She  is  described  as  rejoicing 
in  the  goodness  of  God.  So  in  ch.  54  it  is  declared  that 
the  time  of  Zion’s  chastisement  is  passed.  In  chs.  55 
and  56  the  thought  is  all  of  gladness  and  rejoicing  in 
the  mercy  of  God.  Ch.  57  teaches  that  Israel’s  suffer¬ 
ing  was  due  to  her  sin,  but  God  had  mercy  and  saved. 

c.  Chapters  58-66.  In  this  division  the  greater  em¬ 
phasis  is  put  upon  the  condition  of  the  people  deliv¬ 
ered.  The  triumph  of  glorious  Zion  is  the  theme. 

In  ch.  58  the  true  conditions  of  favor  with  God 
are  given.  Ch.  59  shows  that  sins  caused  their  calam¬ 
ities,  and  that  God  will  redeem  his  people.  Ch.  60 
describes  all  the  nations  as  serving  God’s  people,  con¬ 
tributing  their  wealth  for  the  glory  of  his  house.  Ch. 
61  is  a  message  of  liberty.  The  prosperity  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  God  shall  be  boundless.  Ch.  62  gives  assurance 
of  the  power  of  God  on  behalf  of  his  people.  They 
shall  no  more  be  forsaken.  Salvation  has  come.  In 
ch.  63  God’s  punishment  of  the  Edomites,  Israel’s 
enemy,  is  graphically  portrayed,  and  though  his  people 
had  sinned,  he  would  show  mercy.  In  chs.  64  and  65 


Isaiah 


51 


there  is  a  confession  that  God’s  people  had  sinned 
against  him,  yet  the  infinite  mercy  of  God  would  secure 
the  redemption  of  Israel  and  their  future  glory.  Then 
in  the  last  chapter  there  is  a  summing  up  of  the 
doctrine  that  God  will  severely  punish  sin,  but  will  save 
with  a  mighty  power  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 
At  last  all  nations  shall  worship  Jehovah. 


II 


JEREMIAH 

Parallel  reading:  2  Kings  22  to  25;  2  Chronicles  34 
to  36 ;  Obadiah ;  Habakkuk ;  Zephaniah :  Leviticus  26  ; 
Deuteronomy  28,  29. 

1.  Date  and  Occasion 

This  prophet  began  his  work  among  the  people  of 
the  kingdom  of  Judah  about  627  B.  C.,  in  the  reign  of 
Josiah,  and  continued  in  the  reigns  of  Jehoiakim  and 
Zedekiah  till  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  586  B.  C.  How 
long  he  prophesied  after  this  date  is  not  certain,  but 
he  delivered  some  prophecies  while  in  Egypt  whither 
he  had  gone  with  the  little  band  escaping  from  Judah, 
which  had  been  left  at  home  when  the  army  of  Baby¬ 
lon  carried  away  the  Jews  into  captivity. 

Jeremiah’s  career  was  thus  during  the  overthrow  of 
Judah.  The  reforms  in  the  days  of  Josiah  effected 
little  in  averting  destruction.  Jehoiakim  and  Zedekiah 
were  wicked  kings,  and  their  sin  was  all  the  greater 
because  the  punishment  threatened  was  so  imminent.  > 
The  people  generally  seem  to  have  been  given  up  to 
idolatry  of  all  forms  more  completely  than  at  any  other 
period.  The  worship  of  Jehovah  was  continued,  but  it  ' 
was  perfunctory,  not  genuine. 

It  was  the  Babylonian  period,  because  Babylon  was 
the  dominant,  threatening,  crushing  power,  having  suc- 

52 


Jeremiah 


53 


ceeded  the  Assyrian.  The  political  conditions,  so  far 
as  they  affected  God’s  people,  were  practically  the 
same  as  in  the  Assyrian  period. 

2.  The  Chief  Work  of  Jeremiah 

This  was  to  interpret  the  calamities  that  were  fall¬ 
ing  upon  Judah  as  the  fulfilment  of  early  and  repeated 
threats  made  by  the  former  prophets.  Moses  and  the 
prophets  had  declared  that  even  exile  would  result  if 
the  people  persisted  in  sin.  They  sinned,  and  exile  was 
now  at  hand.  Jeremiah  was  in  the  midst  of  the  crash, 
to  explain,  direct,  counsel,  warn.  He  had  not  only  to 
face  the  angry  defiance  of  professed  loyalists,  the  party 
urging  an  alliance  with  Egypt,  and  those  urging  inde¬ 
pendence,  but  had  also  to  advise  the  king  to  surrender 
to  Babylon  to  save  himself  from  destruction  by  Baby¬ 
lon.  No  prophet  before  Jeremiah  had  such  personal 
opposition  to  meet,  and  none  showed  greater  courage. 
He  is  called  the  weeping  prophet.  He  wept  over  his 
nation’s  sin  and  fall. 

3.  The  Chief  Teaching  of  Jeremiah 

For  the  most  part  the  views  that  this  prophet  got 
were  not  new.  He  got  rather  a  clearer  conception  of 
views  already  given  by  former  prophets.  These  had 
seen  a  future  in  which  God’s  people  would  be  pun¬ 
ished,  and  then  restored,  purified,  dominant,  and 
ideally  faithful  to  Jehovah.  They  did  not  see  a  radical 
change,  but  a  lopping  off  of  dead  branches  ;  a  purging 
away  of  all  dross  from  those  already  God’s  people. 
Government,  political  relations,  and  worship  that  ob¬ 
tained  in  their  days  were  so  prominently  in  view,  that 


54 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


radical  changes  to  other  conditions  were  not  clearly 
seen  by  these  earlier  prophets. 

Jeremiah  sees  government,  political  relations,  and 
forms  of  worship  breaking  to  pieces  before  his  eyes. 
But  he  does  not  believe  that  all  is  lost,  he  is  rather 
triumphantly  sure  of  a  glorious  issue,  which  will  be, 
not  the  old  conditions  restored  and  bettered,  but  in 
reality  a  new  people  based  on  a  new  covenant.  The 
kernel  will  germinate  though  it  fall  to  its  death.  The 
essential  part  will  not  perish.  And  this  central  essential 
substance  will  be  a  new  growth  rather  than  a  branch. 
And  all  this  will  be  the  fulfilment  of  God’s  former  pur¬ 
pose.  In  the  midst  of  the  terrific  storm  that  has  come 
upon  God’s  people,  Jeremiah  looks  beyond  the  ruins. 
In  the  flashes  of  God’s  anger  he  gets  views  of  the  calm 
heavens  above  it  all,  and  of  God  enthroned  directing 
all. 

4.  The  General  Style  of  Jeremiah’s  Prophecies 

There  is  something  of  abruptness,  a  lacking  of  finish, 
seen  in  the  messages  of  this  prophet.  This  was  prob¬ 
ably  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  he  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  calamities,  and  his  spirit  was  agitated  by  what  he 
saw;  in  part  it  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  what  we 
have  in  his  book  is  sometimes  but  abstracts  recalled 
from  the  addresses  that  were  delivered  orally  to  the 
people.  Parts  of  his  prophecies  were  closely  connected 
with  his  personal  experience  when  persecuted  by  the 
Jewish  officials.  At  the  outset  of  his  work  he  saw  its 
difficulties  and  shrank  from  it,  and  during  its  progress 
he  often  longed  for  release  from  the  cruel  strain.  He 
remained  steady  and  faithful  to  his  duty.  It  was  well 


Jeremiah 


55 


for  him  that  he  knew  that  God  had  chosen  him  for 
this  work,  and  that  he  would  defend  him  in  it. 

5.  The  Divisions  of  the  Book 

We  find  here  no  large  distinct  divisions  such  as  are 
found  in  Isaiah.  Except  one  srnall  group  of  chapters 
placed  at  the  end  of  the  book,  all  the  prophecies  are 
concerned  about  Judah,  were  delivered  under  prac¬ 
tically  similar  conditions,  and  they  present  the  same 
general  themes. 

There  will  result  some  advantage  from  subdividing 
the  main  body  of  the  prophecies,  chapter  i  to  45,  into 
smaller  groups,  and  examining  the  special  meaning  of 
each  of  these. 

The  first  twenty-four  chapters  differ  chiefly  from 
what  follows  in  that  they  were  not  so  closely  con¬ 
nected  with  the  personal  experiences  of  the  prophet. 
The  main  thought  is  the  punishment  that  is  about  to 
come  upon  Judah  because  of  her  sin.  The  horrors  of 
the  invasion  are  described,  but  the  invader  is  not  yet 
at  hand.  The  people  are  without  excuse.  The  love 
of  Jehovah  has  been  constantly  shown  them,  but  they 
have  forsaken  Jehovah  and  become  sunken  in  idolatry. 
The  heart  of  the  prophet  is  torn  at  the  sight  of  the  sin 
of  Judah  and  in  view  of  the  awful  punishment  that  is 
coming. 

The  chapters  from  25  to  39  show  this  in  common, 
that  the  prophet  himself  is  prominent.  His  suffering 
and  persecution  are  not  the  chief  facts  given,  but  they 
show  the  occasion  of  the  prophecies  uttered  during 
the  reigns  of  the  two  kings,  Jehoiakim  and  Zedekiah. 
These  are  not  placed  in  the  chronological  order  of  their 

E 


1 


56 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


delivery.  Later  prophecies  are  put  before  earlier  ones. 
Their  significance  is  not  affected  by  this.  The  per¬ 
sonal  life  of  no  other  prophet  enters  so  much  into  his 
message  as  does  that  of  Jeremiah  into  his. 

Chapters  40  to  45  belong  to  the  time  immediately 
after  Jerusalem  had  fallen,  and  are  concerned  with  the 
history  of  the  little  company  the  Babylonians  left  in 
the  land  when  they  took  the  rest  captive.  These  Jews 
purpose  going  into  Egypt.  The  prophet  advises 
against  it. 

Chapters  46  to  51  contain  prophecies  delivered  at 
various  times  against  the  outside  nations,  who  are 
threatened  with  destruction  because  of  their  hostility 
against  God’s  people. 

6.  The  Chief  Thought  in  Each  Prophecy 

Chapter  1  contains  the  account  of  Jeremiah’s  call  to 
his  work.  He  feels  incapable,  but  is  assured  of  help 
and  safety  in  danger. 

Chs.  2  and  3  give  a  severe  charge  against  Judah  for 
turning  away  from  Jehovah  who  had  loved  her. 
Israel’s  fate  had  not  been  heeded  by  Judah,  hence  she 
too  must  suffer.  But  her  God  would  take  her  back 
afterwards. 

Chs.  4,  5,  and  6  are  of  the  same  general  character. 
Great  devastation  from  an  invader  from  the  north  is 
predicted  because  of  the  persistent  sin  of  the  people. 
All  classes  have  sinned.  All  are  indifferent  about  the 
threatened  danger. 

f  Ch.  7  has  an  important  teaching :  The  temple  because 
of  which  they  thought  themselves  safe,  since  it  was 
Jehovah’s  dwelling-place,  would  itself  be  destroyed  as 


Jeremiah 


57 


Shiloh  was.  Not  sacrifices,  but  obedience  and  right¬ 
eousness  were  required. 

Chs.  8  and  9  show  the  lamentable  condition  of 
Judah,  and  the  terrible  punishment  imminent,  includ¬ 
ing  captivity. 

Ch.  10  may  be  compared  with  ch.  44  of  Isaiah,  in 
which  Jehovah  is  contrasted  with  the  wooden  idols  of 
the  heathen. 

Ch.  11  gives  the  command  to  Jeremiah  to  show  the 
people  what  was  demanded  by  the  covenant  made 
with  their  fathers,  and  the  punishment  that  would  come 
because  they  had  violated  it. 

In  ch.  12  we  have  Jeremiah’s  perplexity  because  the 
wicked  flourish,  then  the  prediction  that  God  would 
give  up  his  inheritance  to  desolation,  followed  by  an 
assurance  of  restoration  of  his  people  and  the  promise 
that  other  nations  would  join  them  if  they  would  serve 
Jehovah. 

Ch.  13  contains  an  account  of  one  of  those  prophetic 
actions  meant  to  teach  a  truth.  The  prophet  was  to 
hide  his  girdle  in  the  ground  and  afterwards  find  it 
soiled.  So  Judah  would  be  removed  into  exile  and 
marred.  The  people  would  be  dashed  to  destruction 
like  drunken  men.  Sin  was  the  cause  of  all  this. 

In  chs.  14  and  15  Jeremiah  predicts  a  great  famine 
and  destruction ;  the  false  prophets  deny  that  these  will 
come,  but  they  shall  depart  with  the  rest  into  a  strange 
land.  Intercession  even  by  the  most  holy  men  of  God 
could  not  avert  the  calamity,  because  the  people  have 
so  wretchedly  sinned.  In  the  latter  part  of  ch.  15  we 
have  the  discouragement  of  Jeremiah  because  of  his 
sad  task,  but  he  is  assured  of  help  and  safety. 


58 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


Chs.  1 6  and  17  continue  to  give  threats  of  captivity, 
the  sin  specially  named  being  idolatry.  The  people 
have  forsaken  Jehovah  for  idols.  Jeremiah  promises 
them  the  favor  of  God  if  they  will  keep  his  sabbaths, 
and  thus  show  they  are  his  people  doing  his  will. 

Chs.  18  and  19  are  connected  by  the  use  of  one 
figure,  that  of  a  potter  making  an  earthen  vessel.  God 
has  power  to  do  as  he  will  with  a  nation.  Repentance 
only  can  prevent  his  purpose  to  destroy  a  nation.  His 
purpose  is  to  destroy  Judah  because  of  her  apostasy. 
Jeremiah’s  life  is  threatened.  Then  he  is  directed  to 
break  a  potter’s  vessel  in  their  sight  as  a  sign  of  their 
impending  fate. 

Ch.  20  gives  the  suffering  of  Jeremiah  caused  by  his 
bold  speaking. '  He  thinks  his  life  a  failure;  the  people 
do  not  heed  him,  but  reproach,  and  like  Job  he  wishes 
he  had  never  been  born. 

The  thought  in  chapter  2 1  is  simple.  Zebekiah,  asks 
the  prophet  if  the  Lord  will  deliver  them  from  the 
army  of  Babylon.  The  answer  is,  No. 

Ch.  22  belongs  to  the  time  of  Jehoiakim,  before 
the  event  of  ch.  21.  Threats  are  made  against  the 
kings  of  Judah  because  of  their  sins  that  bring  deso¬ 
lation  upon  the  land.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  all 
this  book  the  chief  sin  condemned  is  that  of  forsaking 
Jehovah  for  other  gods. 

Ch.  23  contains  a  severe  threat  against  the  pastors 
of  the  people,  which  term  seems  to  include  both  kings 
and  false  prophets.  The  latter  are  especially  condemned 
because  they  claimed  falsely  to  have  a  word  from 
Jehovah.  They  not  only  failed  to  warn  of  danger,  but 
assured  the  people  of  safety. 


Jeremiah 


59 


In  ch.  24  under  the  figure  of  baskets  of  figs  it  is 
shown  that  those  already  taken  captive  are  better  off 
than  those  left  in  Jerusalem. 

In  ch.  25  we  have  the  specific  prediction  of  the  fall 
of  Judah  because  the  people  have  not  listened  to  the 
prophet  and  repented.  But  here  occurs  the  wonderful 
promise  that  the  destroying  enemies  shall  themselves 
afterwards  be  destroyed,  and  God’s  people  shall  return 
to  their  land  at  the  end  of  seventy  years. 

Ch.  26  gives  the  account  of  Jeremiah’s  trial  because 
he  had  said  Jerusalem  should  fall  like  Shiloh.  He  was 
not  condemned  to  die  as  some  wished. 

The  figure  of  the  yoke  indicating  bondage  occurs  in 
chs.  27  and  28.  Hananiah  opposed  Jeremiah,  and  as 
predicted,  died  in  two  months  for  his  false  prophecy. 

Ch.  29  tells  of  letters  sent  between  Jerusalem  and 
the  captives  in  Babylonia.  Jeremiah  says  they  will  not 
soon  return.  False  prophets  there  write  to  have  Jere¬ 
miah  killed  for  such  predictions,  God  declared  that 
these  prophets  should  therefore  perish. 

^Chs.  30  and  31  belong  together.  The  improbable 
thing  that  the  Jews  would  again  be  gathered  to  their 
land  is  not  only  predicted,  but  the  prediction  was  to 
be  written  in  a  book,  as  a  permanent  witness  to  the 
certainty  of  God’s  word.  Not  only  will  they  be 
brought  back,  but  God’s  people  in  that  future  would 
have  God’s  law  in  their  heart  under  a  new  covenant. 
This  was  the  more  wonderful  prediction  as  it  was 
made  just  at  the  time  that  Judah’s  case  seemed  the 
most  hopeless.  Utter  destruction  was  at  hand. 

Chs.  32  and  33  belong  to  the  year  before  the  city 
fell  while  it  was  besieged.  Jeremiah  was  in  prison. 


60 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


Captivity  is  sure,  yet  the  prophet  was  to  buy  a  field  in 
Anathoth,  to  show  that  they  would  come  back.  And 
out  of  his  prison  Jeremiah  predicts  the  most  glorious 
prosperity  and  glad  joy  of  his  people  according  to 
God’s  word,  and  that  was  as  sure  as  the  ordinances  of 
the  heavens.  Day  and  night  were  no  more  sure. 

In  reading  ch.  34  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  besieging  army  had  departed  from  the  city  for  a 
time  to  meet  the  advancing  Egyptians.  Before  they 
went  Jewish  slaves  had  been  set  free  by  their  Jewish 
owners.  When  the  siege  was  raised  the  slaves  were 
taken  back.  Jeremiah  repeats  his  warnings  of 
destruction. 

Ch.  35  gives  the  condemnation  of  the  Jews  because 
they  were  not  so  faithful  in  obedience  as  the  Recha- 
bites,  who  obeyed  their  ancestor  in  abstaining  from 
wine.  The  Jews  would  not  obey  Jehovah  their  God. 

In  ch.  36  we  have  the  account  of  Jeremiah’s  writing 
all  his  earlier  prophecies,  which  the  king  cut  and  burnt 
when  they  were  read  to  him,  thinking  he  could  prevent 
their  fulfilment.  But  the  prophet  renews  his  threats. 

Chs.  37,  38,  and  39  are  immediately  connected  with 
the  city’s  fall.  Jeremiah’s  suffering  is  described,  show¬ 
ing  the  wickedness  of  the  Jews  to  the  very  end. 

Chs.  40  to  43  are  historical,  giving  an  account  of  the 
Jews  left  in  the  land. 

Ch.  44  contains  a  prophecy  by  Jeremiah  while  in 
Egypt  against  the  Jews  who  still  sinned  in  spite  of 
their  punishment.  Pharaoh  himself  whom  they  trusted 
would  be  destroyed  by  Babylon. 

Ch.  45  is  one  of  comfort  to  Baruch  the  attendant  of 
the  prophet. 


Jeremiah 


61 


In  the  prophecies  against  the  heathen  nations 
recorded  in  chs.  46-51  it  should  be  noted  that  all  these 
are  to  be  punished  because  of  their  enmity  to  God’s 
people,  and  that  along  with  the  threat  of  punishment 
there  is  also  a  prediction  of  restoration  in  the  case 
of  all  of  them  except  Philistia,  where  nothing  is  said 
about  it,  and  in  the  case  of  Edom  and  Babylon,  who 
would  have  no  remnant,  but  would  be  desolate  forever. 
These  were  the  two  most  uncompromising  enemies  of 
Judah. 

Ch.  52  gives  the  history  of  the  fall  of  the  city.  It 
adds  an  account  of  the  release  from  prison  of  king 
Jehoiachin,  who  had  been  taken  captive  thirty-seven 
years  before. 


Ill 


EZEKIEL 

Parallel  reading:  The  same  passages  as  in  Jeremiah. 
1.  Date  and  Occasion 

Ezekiel  was  taken  into  captivity  597  B„  C.,  when 
the  king  Jehoiachin  was  taken  and  many  of  the  leading 
Jews  with  him.  The  prophet  began  his  work  in  the 
fifth  year  of  his  exile,  592-3.  His  whole  career  as 
prophet  was  spent  in  Babylonia.  He  continued  to 
prophesy  until  570  at  least,  perhaps  longer. 

Jeremiah  had  been  prophesying  for  thirty  years 
before  Ezekiel  was  carried  away,  and  without  doubt  the 
latter  had  often  listened  to  his  words  of  condemnation 
and  threat.  The  messages  of  the  two  had  much  in 
common,  and  we  may  suppose  that  Ezekiel  was  in  part 
influenced  by  Jeremiah.  He  probably  heard  all  the 
prophecies  against  Jehoiakim;  he  may  have  seen  some¬ 
thing  of  the  reforms  attempted  by  Josiah.  Like  Jere¬ 
miah,  Ezekiel  was  in  the  midst  of  the  ruin  of  Judah, 
but  part  of  it  he  passed  through  with  the  captives  in 
exile. 

There  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that  the  words 
of  the  former  prophets  besides  those  of  Jeremiah  had 
been  collected  into  a  body  of  writings  that  were 
regarded  as  having  divine  authority,  as  being  inspired 
Scriptures.  The  messages  of  the  prophets  when  deliv- 
62 


Ezekiel 


63 


ered  by  them  were  accepted  as  coming  from  God,  as  the 
prophets  claimed,  and  it  is  evident  that  these  words 
had  been  preserved  in  written  form.  We  may  well 
suppose  that  Ezekiel  had  access  to  these,  or  at  least  was 
acquainted  with  their  contents. 

Ezekiel  was  a  priest,  and  as  such  he  must  have  been 
informed  about  the  earlier  history  of  the  Israelites : 
God’s  purpose  in  choosing  them;  their  constant  ten¬ 
dency  to  depart  from  Jehovah;  the  many  instances  of 
punishment  that  had  already  come  upon  them;  the 
threat  long  before  made^that  their  sins  would  result  in 
exile,  as  well  as  the  bright  promises  held  out  by  the 
former  prophets  of  a  future  of  restoration  and  glory. 

This  knowledge  that  Ezekiel  had  was  not  the  source 
of  the  messages  he  had  to  deliver,  nor  did  it  altogether 
determine  their  character,  yet  his  prophecies  were  in 
view  of  these  facts  of  which  he  had  knowledge.  What 
we  have  in  the  book  of  Ezekiel  could  have  been  pro¬ 
duced  at  no  other  time,  nor  occasioned  by  other 
conditions. 

Both  Ezekiel  and  Jeremiah  belong  to  the  period 
when  it  may  be  truly  said  Prophecy  had  reached  its 
climax;  not  had  reached  its  fulfilment,  except  in  one 
prominent,  but  incidental  feature,  the  extreme  of 
Israel’s  punishment.  The  stream  of  Prophecy  had 
been  flowing  for  centuries,  and  had  been  gradually 
augmented  in  its  course,  till  now  it  reached  its  full 
strength.  All  the  essential  truths  of  Prophecy  had 
been  taught  when  Ezekiel  finished  his  teaching.  So 
far  as  the  chief  purpose  of  Prophecy  was  concerned,  it 
ended  with  the  work  of  Ezekiel.  He  stood  on  the  bor¬ 
der-line  that  divided  Israel’s  past  of  sin  and  punish- 


64 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


ment  from  Israel’s  future  of  favor  and  blessing.  Some 
centuries  would  yet  pass  before  that  future  should 
reach  its  culmination,  but  the  time  of  comfort  had 
arrived.  The  prophets  of  the  post-exilic  period  added 
no  truth  of  an  import  different  from  what  had  been 
given  by  the  time  of  Ezekiel. 

2.  Chief  Work  of  Ezekiel 

In  part  the  work  of  Ezekiel  was  like  that  of  Jere¬ 
miah  :  he  had  to  interpret  the  calamities  that  were 
falling  upon  Judah  as  judgments  long  before  predicted 
because  of  sin.  Both  these  prophets  were  near  enough 
to  that  “  future,”  that  “  end  of  the  days,”  of  which 
the  earlier  prophets  had  spoken,  to  get  full  views  of 
it.  Jeremiah  saw  a  “  new  covenant,”  practically  a  new 
people,  not  merely  Israel  reformed.  Ezekiel  got  a 
fuller  view  of  what  this  new  people  of  God  would  be. 

He  gives  more  definitely  the  goal  and  purpose  of  all 
the  dealings  of  Jehovah  with  his  people  in  the  past. 
He  stood  nearer  the  dawn  of  the  greatest  day  in  the 
world’s  history.  That  goal  and  purpose  was  the  mak¬ 
ing  known  of  Jehovah  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Thus  we  find  in  Ezekiel  the  frequent  refrain,  “  and  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  Jehovah.” 

The  restoration  of  Israel  which  should  reveal  the 
glory  of  Jehovah  was  to  take  place  in  order  that  Jeho¬ 
vah  might  be  known  to  the  nations.  The  people  thus 
restored  were  to  bear  witness  to  Jehovah  as  the  true 
and  only  God.  But  this  restoration  and  this  witnessing 
were  necessarily  conditioned  upon  the  righteousness  of 
the  individual  Israelite.  Not  the  might  of  Jehovah  but 
his  moral  excellence  was  to  be  manifested  to  the 


Ezekiel 


65 


nations  as  proof  that  he  was  God  and  as  the  impor¬ 
tant  truth  about  him  as  God.  What  he  was  should  be 
shown  by  the  people  among  whom  he  would  dwell,  not 
shown  by  the  nation  as  a  whole,  but  by  the  individual. 

3.  The  Chief  Teaching  of  Ezekiel 

Ezekiel  puts  emphasis  upon  the  individual.  It  is 
not,  however,  true  that  hitherto  the  individual  had  been 
lost  in  the  mass.  While  many  of  the  laws  were  national 
in  form,  most  of  them  involved  individual  obligation, 
and  most  of  the  laws  were  meant  for  the  individual. 
The  sacrifices  were  nearly  all  individualistic.  The 
offerer  confessed  his  own  sin,  and  was  himself  for¬ 
given.  Yet  it  can  be  said  that  most  of  the  recorded 
dealings  of  God  with  his  people  were  of  a  national 
character.  They  were  treated  as  a  unit,  as  a  solidarity. 
When  the  king  sinned  the  nation  was  punished,  as  in 
the  case  of  David’s  numbering  the  people.  In  Ezekiel 
there  is  emphasis  put  upon  the  fact  that  each  individual 
has  personal  relations  to  Jehovah. 

But  the  individual  was  not  the  end  in  view.  He  was 
the  means  to  an  end,  and  that  was  the  manifestation 
of  the  holy  God.  The  holiness  of  God  is  the  under¬ 
lying  thought  of  the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel,  and  thus 
the  main  thought  that  he  emphasizes  is  the  need  of 
holiness  on  the  part  of  the  individual  people  of  God. 
The  doctrine  of  the  holiness  of  God  is  given  in  Isaiah 
in  the  repeated  title  “  Holy  One  of  Israel.”  In  the 
book  of  Ezekiel  it  is  given  rather  in  the  sublime  the- 
ophanies  that  he  describes,  especially  at  the  beginning 
of  his  ministry.  This  doctrine  had  also  been  taught  by 
the  laws  enjoining  holiness  upon  the  people  because  the 


66 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


holy  God  was  dwelling  among  them.  The  key-word 
of  Leviticus  is  “  holiness.” 

The  elaborate  and  wonderful  ritual  that  Ezekiel 
describes  for  the  restored  people  of  God,  with  the 
temple  in  which  they  would  worship,  makes  prominent 
this  great  truth  of  the  holiness  of  Jehovah  and  of  the 
people-  of  Jehovah  because  they  were  his  and  he  was 
dwelling  among  them.  In  his  early  work  the  prophet 
had  to  portray  the  awful  wickedness  of  the  people, 
and  then  in  contrast  he  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
time  when  the  people  would  be  holy,  and  the  holy  God 
would  dwell  among  them,  manifest  to  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  This  is  Ezekiel’s  chief  contribution  to  the 
Bible’s  great  truths. 

4.  The  Style  of  Ezekiel  and  Form  of  His  Prophecies 

The  chief  distinguishing  feature  of  the  contents  of 
this  book  is  the  vision.  Ezekiel  saw  a  vision  at  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry,  a  theophany  that  gave  him 
an  impression  that  remained  with  him  in  all  his  work. 
There  came  to  him  a  revelation  of  God.  It  was  not  so 
much  a  conviction  of  some  attribute  of  God;  not  the 
solitary  truth  of  his  holiness,  of  his  might,  or  his  omnis¬ 
cience,  but  the  great,  overwhelming,  sublime  thought, 
“  God.”  The  parts  of  the  vision  that  Ezekiel  attempts 
to  describe  are  not  distinct,  but  the  impression  made 
by  the  whole  is  vivid.  From  its  effect  the  prophet  fell 
prostrate. 

He  gave  messages  in  the  form  of  visions,  and  the 
last  great  truth  of  his  book,  the  chief  thought  of  all 
that  he  gives,  is  the  vision  of  the  holy  people  in  the  holy 
land  worshiping  God  in  the  holy  temple.  There  are 


Ezekiel 


67 


several  instances  of  what  may  be  called  prophetic 
actions,  either  really  performed,  or  else  described  as 
if  performed,  meant  to  convey  important  truths  to  the 
people.  The  personality  of  the  prophet  is  prominent 
in  some  places,  not  so  fully  as  in  the  case  of  Jeremiah, 
but  more  so  than  either  of  the  other  prophets,  except 
Jonah,  whose  work  was  one  of  action  rather  than  of 
words. 

Aside  from  the  visions  the  prophecies  of  Ezekiel  are 
not  difficult  to  interpret.  Some  of  the  figures  that  he 
uses  are  given  with  much  detail,  and  have  been  charac¬ 
terized  as  crude  compared  with  our  Western  manner  of 
speech.  There  seldom  appears  the  abruptness  of 
speech,  indicating  agitation  of  spirit,  that  is  seen  in 
Isaiah  and  in  some  of  the  Minor  Prophets.  Some 
of  his  prophecies  were  delivered  to  the  captive  Jews  as 
they  gathered  to  the  prophet  to  learn  what  word  had 
come  from  Jehovah.  And  while  he  delivers  messages 
to  these  captives,  his  words  are  usually  meant  to  apply 
to  those  in  the  homeland,  and  to  the  whole  people  in 
all  their  history.  Ezekiel  is  a  captive,  but  in  his  exile 
he  sees  as  if  before  him  the  sacred  Jerusalem  falling 
to  ruin. 

5.  The  Divisions  of  the  Book 

Both  the  general  divisions  and  the  subdivisions  of 
this  book  are  clearly  marked  off  from  each  other. 

There  are  two  principal  divisions:  one  half  of  the 
book,  chs.  i  to  24,  having  to  do  with  the  punishment 
of  Jerusalem  for  sin;  the  other  half,  chs.  25  to  48, 
having  to  do  with  the  destruction  of  enemies  and  the 
restoration  of  the  people.  All  the  first  part  belongs  to 


68 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


the  time  before  the  city  fell ;  the  second  part  after  the 
fall,  except  some  of  the  prophecies  against  the  heathen. 
The  special  purpose  of  each  of  these  divisions  is 
distinct. 

In  the  first  part,  there  is  condemnation  for  sins  that 
the  nation  has  committed,  and  sins  that  are  still  per¬ 
sisted  in,  and  there  are  repeated  assurances  that  Jerusa¬ 
lem  cannot  escape  the  destruction  that  threatens  her. 
Ezekiel  is  at  one  with  Jeremiah  in  this  prediction. 

In  the  second  part,  after  the  punishment  has  fallen 
upon  the  city,  there  is  nothing  but  comfort  for  God’s 
people :  in  the  threats  against  their  enemies,  and  in  the 
description  of  their  glorious  restoration. 

In  the  first  part  are  the  following  divisions : 

( 1 )  Chs.  I  to  3.  Ezekiel  appointed  to  his  ministry. 

(2)  Chs.  4  to  7.  Destruction  foretold,  partly  by 
prophetic  actions. 

(3)  Chs.  8  to  11.  The  wickedness  of  the  city  shown 
in  a  vision,  with  the  threat  of  punishment. 

(4)  Chs.  12  to  19.  Repeated  assurances  of  the 
certainty  of  punishment. 

(5)  Chs.  20  to  23.  Causes  of  Israel’s  destruction 
and  its  imminence. 

(6)  Ch.  24.  Jerusalem  to  be  purified  by  fire. 

In  the  second  part  are  the  following  divisions : 

(1)  Chs.  25  to  32.  Prophecies  against  the  heathen. 

(2)  Chs.  33  to  39.  God’s  people  revived,  restored, 
established. 

(3)  Chs.  40  to  48.  The  religious  reestablishing  of 
God’s  people:  The  temple;  the  ordinances;  the  dwell¬ 
ing  of  the  tribes. 


Ezekiel 


69 


6.  The  Chief  Thought  in  Each  Group 

In  chs.  i  to  3  is  given  the  call  of  Ezekiel  to  his  work. 
In  a  theophany  he  gets  the  idea  of  God,  awful,  sublime, 
and  is  prostrated.  He  is  told  to  preach  to  a  rebellious 
people.  The  heathen  would  be  more  likely  to  heed 
his  words  than  his  own  people  who  talk  his  language. 
He  is  to  be  a  watchman.  For  a  time  his  messages  will 
not  be  received,  so  it  is  said  he  will  be  dumb.  His 
Speaking  will  be  as  though  he  had  not  spoken.  Later 
they  will  hear,  his  mouth  will  be  open. 

Chs.  4  to  y.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  is  por¬ 
trayed  very  vividly  by  what  the  prophet  is  told  to  do. 
It  is  improbable  that  Ezekiel  actually  went  through 
what  is  here  described,  though  it  is  given  as  though  he 
did.  The  end  has  come,  escape  will  be  impossible. 

In  chs.  8  to  ii  the  prophet  is  represented  as  being 
in  Jerusalem,  observing  the  abominations  that  defile  the 
holy  city,  and  declaring  that  the  people  are  not  safe, 
as  they  think,  but  will  be  destroyed. 

In  the  next  division,  chs.  12  to  19,  there  are  different 
prophecies  all  having  the  same  import :  the  sin  of  the 
people  in  departing  from  Jehovah  who  had  so  pitied 
and  loved  Israel,  and  the  sure  punishment  that  was  com¬ 
ing.  The  prediction  that  Zedekiah  should  go  to  Baby¬ 
lon,  but  not  see  it,  ch.  12,  was  literally  fulfilled.  His 
eyes  were  put  out.  The  lying  prophets  are  like  men 
who  build  a  wall  with  poor  mortar,  it  will  not  stand. 
Even  intercession  by  Noah,  Job,  and  Daniel  could  not 
avert  the  calamity.  The  figure  of  the  cast-out  child 
taken  up  by  Jehovah,  loved  and  cared  for,  ch.  16,  is 
most  full  of  meaning.  The  wrong  policy  of  the  king 


70 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


in  looking  to  Egypt  for  help  against  Babylon  it  is 
declared  will  only  lead  to  captivity,  ch.  17.  The  great 
principle  of  God’s  justice,  and  his  readiness  to  forgive 
is  given  in  ch.  18.  The  lamentation  over  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  princes  of  Judah,  ch.  19,  under  the  figure  of 
a  vine,  is  pathetic. 

In  the  next  division,  chs.  20  to  23,  prominence  is 
given  to  the  causes  that  have  brought  about  Judah’s 
fall.  The  nation  has  sinned  from  the  first.  The  king 
of  Babylon  is  at  Libnah,  deciding  by  divination  whether 
he  shall  go  against  Jerusalem  or  Ammon.  Both  are  to 
perish,  ch.  21,  the  two  kingdoms,  Israel  and  Judah, 
under  the  figure  of  adulteresses,  ch.  23,  are  to  be 
destroyed  by  the  very  powers  with  which  they  seek  an 
alliance  :  as  Israel  was  by  Assyria,  so  Judah  shall  be  by 
Babylon. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  prophecy  of  ch.  24  was 
delivered  the  very  day  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  began. 
The  city  is  likened  to  a  pot  in  which  there  is  meat,  the 
meat  is  to  be  burnt,  and  the  pot  purified  by  the  fire. 
It  is  not  certain  whether  the  statement  about  the  death 
of  the  wife  of  Ezekiel  is  to  be  taken  literally  or  not. 
Such  a  calamity,  greater  than  any  signs  of  grief  could 
show,  was  to  illustrate  the  calamity  coming  upon  Judah. 

The  first  division  of  the  second  part  of  the  book  con¬ 
tains  a  collection  of  prophecies  against  the  outside 
nations,  chs.  25  to  32,  very  similar  to  those  in  Isaiah 
and  Jeremiah.  They  are  condemned,  not  for  idolatry, 
but  for  hostility  against  God’s  people.  This  teaching 
by  the  prophets  is  an  important  one,  and  still  has  force. 
The  three  chapters  of  prophecies  about  Tyre  are  of  spe¬ 
cial  interest.  Tyre  stood  for  the  rich  world  power. 


Ezekiel 


71 


The  effect  of  her  fall  would  be  wide-reaching.  The 
destruction  of  Egypt  is  described  in  terms  suggested  by 
that  land.  It  will  be  like  a  fish  thrown  out  on  the  dry 
ground.  The  dates  given  in  the  case  of  some  of  these 
prophecies  are  significant.  In  all  these  heathen  proph¬ 
ecies  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  they  were  not  expected 
to  be  heard  by  these  peoples.  They  were  meant  for  the 
ears  of  God’s  people,  to  give  them  encouragement 
from  the  fact  that  their  enemies  were  to  be  destroyed. 
They  were  also  to  teach  that  sin  against  God  would  be 
punished. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  the  next  division,  ch.  33,  it 
is  shown  that  the  evil  that  came  upon  Judah  was  wholly 
due  to  their  refusal  to  live  righteously,  according  to  the 
injunction  of  the  prophet.  The  mercy  of  God  is  shown 
in  ch.  34  by  his  promise  to  send  a  faithful  Shepherd, 
“  David,”  who  will  gather  and  care  for  the  scattered 
sheep.  Ch.  36  gives  promise  of  restoration;  a  new 
heart  of  flesh  will  be  given  to  the  people,  and  because 
of  this  all  peoples  shall  come  to  know  Jehovah.  This 
prediction  occurs  like  a  refrain  many  times  in  the 
book  of  Ezekiel.  The  restoration  of  the  people  is 
further  predicted  in  the  vision  of  the  dry  bones.  This 
probably  is  meant  only  in  a  national  sense,  not  a 
teaching  of  the  resurrection  of  the  individual  after 
death.  The  restored,  united  people,  with  “  David  ”  a 
shepherd  and  Prince,  had  a  spiritual  significance  far 
beyond  the  literal  Israelites. 

In  a  graphic  picture  the  destruction  of  the  enemies 
of  God’s  people  is  described  in  chs.  38  and  39.  All 
this  is  in  order  that  Jehovah  may  be  known. 

In  the  last  group,  chs.  40  to  48,  the  description  of 


72 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


the  temple,  the  temple  service,  and  the  land  occupied 
by  the  tribes  of  Israel,  should  not  be  taken  literally. 
The  idea  of  the  whole  is  that  of  “  holiness.”  It  is  to 
teach,  not  only  that  Mt.  Zion  would  be  a  holy  place,  but 
that  wherever  God’s  people  were,  in  all  of  a  far- 
extended  region  holiness  would  prevail.  It  is  put  in 
exact  contrast  with  the  former  wickedness  of  the  peo¬ 
ple  by  which  the  land  had  been  defiled.  In  that  future 
there  would  be  nothing  to  defile.  All  the  place  and  all 
the  people  would  be  holy,  because  the  holy  God  would 
be  dwelling  there  among  men. 


v 


\ 


\ 


IV 


DANIEL 

Parallel  reading :  Same  passages  in  Kings  and 
Chronicles  as  for  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel;  Ezra  i  to  3. 

1.  Date  and  Historical  Occasion 

There  are  two  widely  divergent  views  concerning 
the  date  of  this  book :  in  one  view,  it  was  written  by 
Daniel  approximately  within  the  years  603-635  B.  C. ; 
in  the  other  it  was  produced  at  the  time  of  the  great 
persecutor  of  the  Jews,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  175- 
163  B.  C. 

According  to  the  former  view  it  is  for  the  most  part 
prophecy  in  the  sense  of  prediction;  according  to  the 
latter  view  it  is  history  given  in  allegorical  form. 

The  reasons  urged  for  holding  the  one  or  the  other 
of  these  views  need  not  here  be  cited.  They  can  be 
found  in  Driver’s  “  Introduction,”  in  the  Bible  Dic¬ 
tionaries,  and  in  commentaries  on  Daniel. 

Assuming  that  the  contents  of  the  book  were  written 
by  Daniel,  the  occasion  was  important.  Daniel  was 
among  the  captives  taken  by  the  army  of  Nebuchadrez¬ 
zar  (605  B.  C. )  as  he  was  driving  the  Egyptians  back 
from  their  campaign  into  Mesopotamia.  Judah  at 
that  time  became  subject  to  Babylon  instead  of  Egypt. 
The  Jewish  kings  who  were  allowed  to  stay  on  the 
throne,  were  little  more  than  agents  to  collect  tribute 

73 


74 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


for  Babylon.  When  Zedekiah  attempted  to  withhold 
the  tribute,  looking  to  Egypt  for  help,  he  was  removed, 
and  Jerusalem  was  destroyed.  (586  B.  C. ) 

Jeremiah  was  prophesying  at  Jerusalem  and  Ezekiel 
in  Babylonia  among  the  exiles,  where  Daniel  was.  Eze¬ 
kiel  did  not  begin  his  work  until  597,  six  years  after 
Daniel  and  his  companions  had  been  chosen  for  the 
royal  court.  Thus  Daniel  began  his  career  about 
eighteen  years  before  Jerusalem  fell,  and  his  last  mes¬ 
sage  was  given  after  the  Jews  had  returned  to  build 
again  the  temple.  (10  :  1.)  He  lived  through  the 
period  of  the  captivity  foretold  by  Jeremiah,  and  felt 
the  full  force  of  the  sway  of  the  world  power  over  the 
people  of  God.  It  may  be  that  the  contentment  of 
the  Jews  in  their  exile  home  would  make  any  prospect 
of  restoration  seem  all  the  more  hopeless.  Not  only 
Gentile  enemies,  but  Jewish  indifference  would  prevent 
the  fulfilment  of  the  earlier  prophetic  hopes. 

2.  The  Chief  Work  of  Daniel 

In  its  formal  aspect  the  work  of  Daniel  was  with  the 
rulers  of  Babylon.  He  was  given  the  opportunity  to 
teach  them  truths  about  the  true  God,  Jehovah,  God  of 
the  Jews.  He  was  able  to  show  that  Jehovah  only  was 
almighty,  and  that  he  could  defend  his  people  against 
the  hate  of  their  enemies.  Fundamentally  the  work 
of  Daniel  was  to  give  comfort  to  God’s  people.  In  this 
his  work  is  like  that  of  Isaiah  in  the  second  part  of  his 
book.  He  belongs  to  the  time  of  God’s  favor  after 
the  time  of  chastisement,  although  he  lived  while  the 
chastisement  was  still  in  progress.  His  work  was  to 
give  grounds  of  encouragement  to  God’s  people,  to  help 


Daniel 


75 


them  see,  not  so  much  the  cause  of  their  downfall,  as 
shown  in  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  but  the  certainty  that 
they  would  come  forth  again  from  oppression,  that 
their*  suffering  was  no  proof  that  God  had  forgotten 
them,  that  he  still  was  intervening  on  their  behalf,  and 
that  all  powers  that  opposed  them  would  at  length  be 
overthrown. 

3.  The  Chief  Teachings  of  Daniel 

Whichever  view  be  taken  of  the  date  of  this  book  the 
teaching  is  the  same.  The  following  may  be  noted : 

( 1 )  To  give  consolation  to  God’s  people  in  their  suf¬ 
fering.  The  instances  recorded  of  God’s  deliverance 
of  those  who  feared  him  from  suffering  imposed  by 
the  heathen  idol-worshipers  gave  proof  of  his  constant 
care  over  them,  and  the  assurance  that  there  would  be 
a  favorable  issue  from  all  oppression.  There  was  not 
taught  the  doctrine  that  God  would  prevent  his  people 
from  all  suffering,  for  they  did  suffer,  but  that  suf¬ 
fering  imposed  as  a  punishment  would  end  in  mercy. 
And  in  this  the  chief  thought  is  not  freedom  from  suf¬ 
fering,  but  the  care  of  God  over  those  who  feared  him. 

(2)  Another  prominent  truth  taught  in  Daniel  is 
that  Jehovah  whom  the  Jews  worshiped  was  the  true 
God ,  that  there  was  no  other. 

Much  truth  of  a  theological  character  had  already 
been  given  to  the  Israelites  to  be  handed  down  through 
them  in  the  teachings  of  Moses,  in  God’s  dealings  with 
his  people  as  recorded  in  the  historical  books  and  in  the 
earlier  prophets.  The  doctrine  of  monotheism  had 
before  been  taught,  but  it  is  needful  now  to  emphasize 
this  doctrine.  It  must  be  insisted  that  there  was,  and 


76 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


could  be,  but  one  God,  and  that  it  was  he  who  had 
made  himself  known  to  the  Israelites. 

Isaiah  had  taught  that  Jehovah  was  above  all  the 
gods,  indeed  he  had  said  these  gods  were  no  gods. 
Daniel  was  to  teach  that  “  gods  ”  were  not  God. 
Ezekiel's  frequent  refrain  was,  “  And  they  shall  know 
that  I  am  Jehovah.”  His  great  thought  was  that  God 
would  be  manifested  to  all  the  nations. 

The  consummation  of  all  the  pre-Messianic  revela¬ 
tions  was  soon  to  be  reached  in  the  coming  of  man’s 
Redeemer,  and  there  was  need  of  the  incontrovertible 
proof  that  Jehovah,  who  had  promised  a  Redeemer, 
was  God,  that  it  might  be  known  that  the  Redeemer 
who  should  come  came  from  God,  not  a  god.  There 
can  be  but  one.  The  one  God  was  the  God  of  the 
Jews.  All  the  grounds  of  hope  for  spiritual  life  that 
man  could  have  were  to  be  based  upon  the  claims  of 
the  Messiah  whom  Jehovah  had  promised  to  send.  In 
order  that  such  grounds  might  be  known  to  be  sure  it 
was  needful  to  teach  that  God  against  whom  man  had 
sinned  was  no  other  than  the  one  sending  this 
Redeemer. 

The  highest  evidence  of  the  character  of  God  is 
found  in  the  supreme  excellence  of  the  moral  attributes 
shown  in  the  manifestations  of  himself  through  the 
prophets,  and  especially  in  Christ.  But  the  proof  of 
the  existence  of  the  Supreme  Being  who  concerned 
himself  about  man  must  precede  the  proof  of  his  char¬ 
acter.  The  miraculous  is  therefore  not  only  unobjec¬ 
tionable  but  necessary.  If  God  would  save  men  in 
his  mercy  he  must  give  proof  that  it  is  a  Person  and 
not  a  force  that  is  watching  the  interests  of  man,  not 


Daniel 


77 


a  mere  power  continuing  the  operations  of  the  laws  of 
nature.  Nor  was  it  enough  to  show  omnipotent  power, 
but  such  power  must  be  exercised  with  gracious  pur¬ 
poses.  All  recorded  Biblical  miracles  are  connected 
with  the  unfolding  of  God’s  purpose  of  redemption. 
They  were  not  simply  evidences  of  almightiness,  nor 
proofs  of  benevolence,  they  were  didactic.  They  helped 
to  teach  that  God  willed  to  redeem  men. 

It  is  by  no  means  clear  that  the  heathen  kings  of 
Daniel’s  day  came  to  believe  in  Jehovah  as  the  true 
God.  The  proofs  placed  before  them  were  intended  as 
the  permanent  possession  of  God’s  people. 

(3)  The  third  prominent  teaching  of  Daniel  is  that 
the  kingdom  of  God  was  to  be  triumphant  over  the 
world  powers. 

However  much  there  may  be  that  is  common  to  all 
men,  there  yet  has  always  been  a  distinction  between 
those  classed  as  God’s  people  and  those  who  are  not. 
This  is  not  merely  a  distinction  in  character,  it  is  one 
evidenced  in  conduct.  Men  have  shown  enmity  against 
God  by  attacks,  sometimes  apparently  successful, 
against  God’s  people.  The  one  thing  for  which  the 
Old  Testament  prophets  condemn  the  heathen  is  this 
enmity.  At  the  time  of  Daniel  the  heathen  enmity  had 
reached  its  climax  in  the  Jewish  captivity.  It  would 
seem  that  God’s  enemies  had  been  victorious;  that 
God’s  kingdom  would  not  endure ;  that  his  people  must 
perish  from  the  earth. 

From  this  darkest  hour  sprang  the  brightest  promises 
with  the  strongest  assurances.  The  world  powers,  now 
triumphant,  should  at  last  be  overthrown,  all  opposi¬ 
tion  should  be  utterly  demolished,  and  the  kingdom  of 


78 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


God,  whose  beginning  would  be  miraculous  and  its 
origin  heaven,  would  itself  overthrow,  destroy,  and 
endure  forever. 

Whoever  the  author,  or  whatever  the  date  of  this 
book,  its  teaching  is  that  the  triumphant,  glorious 
kingdom  of  God  shall  permanently  abide.  This  truth 
will  be  valuable  so  long  as  opposition  to  God’s  people 
tends  to  discourage  them.  Physical  opposition  may 
be  past;  others  more  potent  continue.  Whatever  the 
form  of  opposition  to  God’s  cause,  his  people  may  rest 
assured  that  it  cannot  be  overthrown,  though  it  may 
be  hindered.  The  final  victory  of  Christ  is  not  uncer¬ 
tain.  Its  date  would  seem  to  be  fixed  by  the  amount 
of  valor  shown  by  those  who  contend  for  him. 

4.  The  General  Character  of  the  Book 

In  the  other  prophetic  books  we  find  charge,  con¬ 
demnation,  and  threat  predominant.  The  chief  work 
of  the  other  prophets  was  to  turn  the  people  of  Israel 
back  from  their  sins,  to  endeavor  to  secure  their  fidel¬ 
ity  to  Jehovah.  Besides  this,  their  work  was  to  inter¬ 
pret  the  calamities  that  were  befalling  Israel  as  judg¬ 
ments  sent  for  punishment. 

Daniel  does  not  rebuke  nor  threaten  God’s  people. 
He  comforts  only.  The  dream  and  vision  is  rare  in  the 
other  prophets  except  in  Ezekiel.  In  Daniel  the  dream 
and  vision  make  up  the  bulk  of  the  book.  The  rest  is 
the  narrative  of  miraculous  events  by  which  truth  was 
taught. 

The  other  prophets  delivered  messages  to  their  peo¬ 
ple,  Daniel  delivers  none  directly  to  them,  though  all 
that  he  writes  is  for  them.  Thus  this  book  is  unique 


Daniel 


79 


among  the  prophets.  This  is  evident  even  on  the  view 
that  the  book  was  written  by  Daniel.  On  the  other 
view  that  it  was  not  produced  until  the  days  of  the  Mac¬ 
cabees,  it  is  regarded  as  apocryphal.  Its  apocalyptic 
character  marks  it  off  still  more  clearly  from  the  other 
prophets. 

5.  The  General  Divisions  of  the  Book 

The  chapters  may  be  divided  into  two  groups : 

(1)  Chs.  i  to  6.  In  these  occur  narratives  of  the 
experiences  of  Daniel  and  his  companions,  and  the 
dreams  of  the  king  Nebuchadrezzar  and  the  vision  of 
Belshazzar,  which  Daniel  interpreted. 

(2)  Chs.  7  to  12.  In  these  we  have  the  visions  that 
Daniel  saw;  his  prayer  for  the  fulfilment  of  God’s 
promised  deliverance,  and  the  revelation  made  to  him, 
in  which  he  was  shown  the  great  conflicts  that  were 
to  come,  in  which  the  people  of  God  would  suffer,  and 
from  which  at  last  they  would  be  delivered. 

The  same  general  truths  are  found  in  both  these 
parts,  and  there  is  recognized  a  close  correspondence 
between  the  meaning  of  the  fourfold  image  of  the 
king’s  dream,  and  the  four  beasts  of  Daniel’s  vision. 
(Ch.  2;  comp,  with  ch.  7.) 

6.  The  Chief  Thought  of  the  Different  Chapters 

Chapter  1  shows  how  Daniel  came  to  be  among  the 
king’s  counsellors.  The  class  to  which  he  belonged  was 
famous  for  learning  and  wisdom.  The  objection  that 
was  made  to  the  food  furnished  probably  arose  from 
religious  scruples. 

Ch.  2.  The  great  truth  of  this  chapter  is  that  the 


80 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


world  powers  were  at  length  to  be  overthrown  by  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  latter  was  to  have  a  divine 
origin.  There  are  different  views  about  what  world 
powers  are  meant,  whether  the  last  of  the  four  is  the 
Roman  or  the  Grecian.  On  the  supposition  that  the 
book  is  only  history  under  the  guise  of  symbolical 
terms,  and  was  written  while  Antiochus  was  persecut¬ 
ing  the  Jews,  the  fourth  part  of  the  image  meant 
Greece,  not  Rome.  This  view  limits  the  scope  of  teach¬ 
ing,  it  does  not  change  its  character. 

Ch.  3.  The  miraculous  escape  of  the  three  Jews  from 
the  fire  of  the  furnace  was  to  teach  that  Jehovah,  God 
of  the  Jews,  was  the  true  God,  and  was  the  only  God. 
There  was  also  the  teaching  that  he  was  not  only  able 
to  deliver,  but  would.  The  power  of  all  who  hated  the 
servants  of  Jehovah  could  not  withstand  the  merciful 
intervention  of  Jehovah  in  behalf  of  his  people.  The 
king  was  willing  to  decree  at  least  that  none  should 
speak  against  the  God  of  the  Jews. 

Ch.  4.  The  abasement  of  the  proud  king  narrated  in 
this  chapter  was  to  show  that  Jehovah  was  not  the  God 
of  the  Jews  only,  but  universal  Sovereign.  This  truth 
had  been  taught  to  some  degree  from  the  first.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  even  the  Israelites  themselves  during 
much  of  their  history  held  the  common  idea  that  each 
country  had  its  own  god,  and  that  Jehovah  ruled  espe¬ 
cially,  if  not  only,  in  Palestine.  Such  a  doctrine  was 
not  held  by  the  divinely  appointed  teachers  of  Israel, 
but  it  could  easily  have  been  accepted  by  the  common 
people  from  the  beliefs  of  the  other  nations.  The  uni¬ 
versal  sovereignty  of  Jehovah  needed  now  to  be  spe¬ 
cially  emphasized. 


Daniel 


81 


Ch.  5.  It  was  when  Daniel  was  old  that  he  was  sent 
for  to  give  the  interpretation  of  the  handwriting  on  the 
wall.  The  teaching  of  the  chapter  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  preceding,  with  the  further  condemnation  of  the 
king  because  he  profaned  the  vessels  of  the  holy  tem¬ 
ple,  and  praised  the  gods  instead  of  God. 

Ch.  6.  It  has  been  difficult  to  identify  Darius  the 
Mede.  There  are,  however,  sufficient  reasons  for 
regarding  the  account  as  trustworthy.  He  manifests 
nobility  of  character,  even  if  something  of  weakness, 
in  his  anxiety  for  Daniel,  whose  miraculous  deliver¬ 
ance  from  the  death  decreed  teaches  again  that  Jehovah 
is  God,  and  that  loyalty  to  him  is  not  only  right,  but 
will  be  rewarded.  Not  alone  our  sympathy  for  Daniel, 
but  our  sense  of  justice  makes  us  approve  the  fate  of 
those  who  would  stop  Daniel  from  praying  to  his  God 
because  they  were  jealous  of  his  preeminence. 

Ch.  7.  The  meaning  of  this  vision  of  Daniel  is  sim¬ 
ilar  to  that  of  Nebuchadrezzar’s  dream.  (Ch.  2.)  It 
is  certain  that  the  scope  of  the  vision  included  the  estab¬ 
lishing  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  the  earth.  Its  full 
meaning  may  not  yet  be  exhausted  by  what  has  already 
taken  place,  but  the  interpretation  that  makes  the 
fourth  beast  mean  the  Roman  power  seems  the  best 
one.  This  is  accepted  in  accordance  with  the  general 
view  that  the  book  is  prediction  and  not  history  sym¬ 
bolized. 

Ch.  8.  The  general  thought  of  this  vision  is  also  one 
of  conflict  and  desolation.  It  was  in  part  interpreted  to 
Daniel,  in  part  was  left  obscure.  Daniel  himself  was 
overcome  by  the  terribleness  of  what  he  saw.  This  is 
also  regarded  as  including  the  Roman  power. 


82 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


Ch.  9.  Daniel  studied  the  Scriptures  of  the  former 
prophets  and  saw  the  promise  of  restoration  that  God 
had  made.  And  now  he  prays  that  the  promise  may 
be  fulfilled.  He  confesses  that  the  affliction  that  had 
come  upon  his  people  was  just,  for  they  had  sinned. 
But  he  prays  that  the  anger  of  Jehovah  may  be  turned 
away  from  his  people.  While  he  prayed  the  answer 
came.  Gabriel  assures  the  prophet  that  there  shall  be 
desolation,  and  an  end  of  desolation.  The  Messiah 
shall  come,  and  shall  be  cut  off.  The  length  of  time  is 
given  in  terms  whose  meaning  has  been  disputed.  Many 
atterppts  have  been  made  to  determine  from  these 
prophecies  of  Daniel  the  date  of  the  fulfilment  of  God’s 
purposes.  It  seems  to  have  been  left  for  the  event  itself 
to  solve. 

Chs.  10  to  12  belong  together.  There  is  no  part 
of  the  book  more  puzzling  than  this.  It  is  to  be  noted 
that  the  events  described  took  place  after  Cyrus  had 
given  the  decree  that  the  Jews  might  return  to  build  the 
temple.  There  is  no  account  of  this  in  Daniel.  It  is 
thought  that  the  first  chapters  of  Ezra  were  originally 
a  part  of  this  book. 

The  very  minute  description  of  the  conflict  between 
the  powers  lends  support  to  the  view  that  it  is  really  a 
history  of  what  had  already  taken  place  in  the  reign  of 
Antiochus,  intentionally  made  obscure.  But  the  book 
in  general  professes  to  be  prophecy,  not  history.  In  ch. 
12  the  revelation  given  to  Daniel  goes  far  beyond  what 
occurred  in  the  Grecian  period.  It  is  declared  that  the 
distant  future  is  included  in  the  view  presented. 

Daniel  was  not  told  all  that  should  be,  but  was 
assured  that  in  the  end  it  would  be  well  for  God’s  peo- 


Daniel 


83 


pie,  that  they  would  be  delivered,  and  that  he  himself 
would  stand  in  his  lot  at  the  last.  Not  only  is  there 
the  comforting’  thought  that  God  would  care  for  his 
people  as  a  whole,  but  the  individual  would  not  be  lost 
sight  of. 

Note — The  Interpretation  of  Daniel 

A  fuller  statement  seems  needed  about  the  different 
interpretations  of  this  book.  What  may  for  conveni¬ 
ence  be  called  the  traditional  view  accepts  the  historical 
trustworthiness  of  the  narratives,  as  having  been  writ¬ 
ten  by  Daniel  himself,  and  believes  the  dreams  and 
visions  to  have  been  actual  facts.  It  takes  the  contents 
to  be  prophetic  of  future  events,  as  the  book  itself 
claims.  The  other  view  is  that  the  book  was  produced 
in  the  time  of  Antiochus,  and  that  it  only  intends  to 
give  events  already  past  or  conditions  then  present,  but 
gives  these  in  the  form  of  symbols  and  allegories.  The 
chief  reason  for  this  view  is  that  we  do  not  find  other 
apocalyptic  writings  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  that  it 
is  not  probable  that  such  minute  details  would  have 
been  predicted  and  so  exactly  fulfilled.  It  is  said  that  it 
was  not  unusual  for  writers  to  place  the  name  of 
another  as  the  author  of  their  work.  This  has  not  been 
proved.  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  articles  cited  for 
a  full  discussion  of  the  subject. 


V 


HOSEA 

Parallel  reading:  2  Kings '9  to  17;  Amos;  Jonah; 
Ezekiel  23. 

1.  Date  and  Occasion 

In  the  title  of  the  book  the  time  of  the  prophecy  is 
put  during  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  of  Israel,  where  the 
prophet  worked,  and  of  four  kings  of  Judah,  Uzziah 
to  Hezekiah.  These  are  named  probably  to  help  indi¬ 
cate  more  definitely  the  character  of  the  times  of 
Hosea.  Jeroboam  died  about  745  B.  C,  and  it  is 
likely  that  Hosea  began  his  career  in  the  latter  part 
of  this  reign.  It  is  not  certain  how  late  he  continued 
to  prophesy.  Hezekiah  of  Judah  ascended  the  throne 
not  before  726. 

Hosea  thus  belongs  to  the  Assyrian  period.  The  fall 
of  Samaria  was  not  far  in  the  future.  (722.)  The 
reign  of  Jeroboam  was  a  remarkable  one  because  of 
the  extensive  power  reached  by  Israel  under  this  king, 
and  because  of  the  excessive  wickedness  that  resulted 
from  the  luxury  of  the  times.  The  sway  of  Israel  had 
been  no  wider  at  any  time  since  the  reign  of  Solomon. 
The  Syrian  power  was  checked,  and  Assyria  had  been 
going  through  one  of  her  periods  of  decline  in  power. 
The  Israelites  were  rich  and  living  in  ease.  They  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  gratification  of  sensuous  appe- 
84 


Hosea 


85 


tites.  They  became  greedy  for  gain,  and  selfish  avarice 
ruled  everywhere.  They  forsook  Jehovah  even  more 
completely  than  they  had  before,  and  adopted  all  forms 
of  idolatry.  Crime  of  every  sort  prevailed,  and  the 
greedy  rich  used  their  strength  to  oppress  the  defense¬ 
less  poor.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  exaggerate  the 
depth  of  wickedness  reached  by  the  Israelites  at  this 
time.  The  two  chief  national  characteristics  were 
idolatry  and  oppression. 

In  studying  Hosea  it  must  also  be  kept  in  mind  that 
the  punishment  so  long  threatened  was  near  at  hand. 
For  centuries  the  sins  of  the  people  had  been  accumu¬ 
lating.  There  were  no  prospects  of  reform.  Israel 
was  confronted  by  destruction,  though  she  refused  to 
see  it. 

Assyria  was  about  to  enter  upon  that  last  great 
period  of  empire  sway  under  the  reign  of  Tiglath-pil- 
eser  III.  Had  Israel  remained  faithful  to  Jehovah  she 
might  have  escaped  this  terrible  power,  but  she  was  to 
be  swept  from  her  land  within  a  few  years. 

2.  The  Chief  Work  of  Hosea 

Although  the  northern  tribes  had  separated  from 
the  kingdom  of  Judah,  and  established  a  kingdom  of 
their  own,  they  still  called  themselves  the  people  of 
Jehovah,  and  continued  to  be  treated  as  such.  Their 
use  of  the  name  of  Jehovah  seems  to  have  been  little 
more  than  a  formal  title  to  distinguish  themselves 
from  the  nations  worshiping  other  gods,  for  they  had 
adopted  almost  all  forms  of  idolatry,  while  they  kept 
the  name  of  Jehovah.  During  most  of  the  history  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  the  prophetic  class  was  active  in 


86 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


the  endeavor  to  secure  fidelity  to  Jehovah.  These 
prophets  were  more  numerous  in  the  north  than  in  the 
south.  Elijah  and  Elisha  belonged  to  Israel,  the 
northern  kingdom.  The  tribes  of  the  north  were  not 
cut  off  from  being  God’s  chosen  people  when  they 
revolted  from  Rehoboam.  Jehovah’s  care  over  them 
and  love  for  them  were  constantly  manifested. 

The  work  to  which  Hosea  was  called  was  that  of 
reproving,  condemning,  threatening.  He  shows  that 
Israel’s  condemnation  is  all  the  more  certain,  and 
clearly  just,  because  they  have  despised  the  love  of 
Jehovah  which  had  been  so  abundant.  Hosea  was  not 
only  to  threaten  the  Israelites  with  the  punishment  that 
was  at  hand,  but  was  especially  to  show  that  this 
chiefly  resulted  because  they  had  despised  God’s  love. 
Thus  his  work  was  to  warn  and  to  interpret,  and  both 
the  warning  and  the  interpretation  were  for  the  per¬ 
manent  teaching  that  God  loves  man,  and  that  he  will 
punish  sin. 

3.  The  Chief  Thought  of  Hosea 

Hosea  has  been  called  the  prophet  of  love.  He  does 
make  prominent  the  fact  of  Jehovah’s  great  love  for 
his  people,  but  the  most  of  his  book  is  devoted  to  the 
description  of  the  sins  of  the  Israelites  and  the  punish¬ 
ment  that  would  come.  The  love  of  God  is  used  as  a 
background  for  destruction,  and  the  destruction  would 
be  all  the  greater  because  the  love  was  so  great. 

The  figure  of  speech  that  appears  so  often  and  so 
prominently  in  Hosea  is  that  of  the  marriage  relation. 
Jehovah  is  the  husband,  Israel  is  the  wife.  The  husband 
loved;  the  wife  was  untrue.  The  spiritual  adultery 


Hosea 


87 


of  Israel  would  be  punished  by  exile.  But  Jehovah 
would  take  his  people  back  in  spite  of  their  faithless¬ 
ness,  just  as  Hosea  was  commanded  to  love  a  woman 
who  was  an  adulteress. 

The  principal  truths  that  are  found  in  Hosea  occur 
in  other  prophets,  though  Israel’s  sinning  against  the 
love  of  God  is  more  emphasized  here.  So  the  figure 
of  the  marriage  relation  is  used  by  other  prophets,  but 
it  is  more  prominent  in  Hosea. 

4.  General  Style  of  Hosea’s  Writings 

It  is  very  likely  that  what  we  have  in  this  book  is 
for  the  most  part  abstracts  of  the  addresses  of  the 
prophet.  The  style  is  exceedingly  abrupt  in  places,  and 
there  is  great  difficulty  in  determining  the  connection 
of  the  thought.  In  part,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
we  have  prophecies  that  belong  to  a  number  of  years, 
and  are  not  to  expect  a  continuous  thought  through  the 
book.  Sometimes  the  present  chapter  divisions  do  not 
correspond  to  the  real  divisions  of  thought.  Where  the 
thought  seems  to  be  continuous,  and  is  yet  difficult  to 
understand,  it  is  often  most  helpful  to  seek  the  general 
course  of  the  thought,  and  then  determine  the  meaning 
and  connection  of  each  part.  This  often  requires 
much  study  and  careful  thinking.  In  places  the 
prophet  changes  to  a  thought  that  is  suggested  by  some 
word  or  phrase  that  he  has  used  in  a  different  sense. 
The  connection  can  be  discovered,  but  it  is  not  obvious. 
There  is  an  illustration  of  this  in  ch.  7.  The  figure 
of  the  oven  gives  the  ideas  of  heat,  bread,  eating,  then 
the  cake  not  fit  for  food,  and  the  people  eaten,  de¬ 
voured  by  the  heathen. 

G 


88 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


5.  The  Chief  Divisions  of  the  Book 

Only  two  divisions  are  evident:  chs.  i  to  3,  which 
are  connected  with  the  account  of  the  marriage  of  the 
prophet;  and  chs.  4  to  14.  This  part  of  the  book  is  not 
clearly  divisible  into  minor  parts.  It  is  all  of  the  same 
general  character,  and  could  all  have  been  delivered 
at  one  time.  Little  help  can  be  got  from  any  attempt 
to  group  some  of  the  chapters  together. 

6.  The  General  Meaning  of  These  Divisions 

The  account  of  the  marriage  of  the  prophet  men¬ 
tioned  in  ch.  1  is  differently  interpreted.  Some  think 
the  marriage  was  actual;  some  think  it  an  allegory. 
Most  of  those  who  think  it  actual  believe  that  the 
woman  Hosea  married  was  either  bad  before  he  mar¬ 
ried  her  or  became  bad  afterwards.  Then  ch.  3  is 
understood  as  showing  that  his  wife  left  him,  became 
the  slave  of  another,  and  he  bought  her  back  at  the 
command  of  Jehovah.  Many  of  the  reasons  for  this 
view  are  far-fetched.  The  slave  idea  is  got  from  the 
claim  that  according  to  Exodus  the  price  of  a  slave 
was  thirty  shekels,  and  according  to  2  Kings  7  :  18 
barley  was  worth  a  half-shekel  per  measure,  and  it  is 
estimated  that  the  woman  Hosea  bought  cost  thirty 
shekels,  one  half  in  money,  the  other  in  barley. 

There  is  really  no  evidence  that  Hosea’s  wife  was  a 
bad  woman  either  before  or  after  her  marriage.  It  is 
clear  from  the  context  that  the  expression  used  in  con¬ 
nection  with  her  is  suggested  by  the  wicked  conduct  of 
the  people.  The  children  are  named,  just  as  were 
Isaiah’s,  in  order  to  teach  the  apostasy  of  Israel,  and 


Hosea 


89 


not  because  of  anything  wrong  in  them  or  in  their 
mother,  so  far  as  the  account  shows.  (See  Isa.  7:3; 
8:3;  See  Hastings’  H.  D.  B.,  art.  “  Hosea.”) 

The  idea  of  the  faithless  wife,  meaning  Israel,  in  ch. 
2  is  very  full  of  meaning.  The  people  had  forsaken 
Jehovah  and  turned  to  Baal.  They  thought  what  they 
possessed  was  given  by  Baal  as  a  reward  for  service. 
God  says  by  the  prophet  that  he  will  take  away  what 
he  has  given  that  Israel  may  realize  that  all  came  from 
him,  and  that  they  may  turn  back  to  him.  This  gives 
the  key  to  the  teaching  of  the  book:  Israel  has  been 
faithless,  and  punishment  will  be  sent  to  bring  back 
Jehovah’s  people  to  himself.  The  certainty  of  the 
restoration  is  given  along  with  the  threat. 

The  general  thought  in  chs.  4  and  5  is  the  excessive 
wickedness  of  the  people,  and  the  certainty  of  punish¬ 
ment.  In  most  of  this  part  the  priests  are  regarded  as 
leaders  in  sin.  When  they  seek  help  from  Assyria 
instead  of  from  Jehovah,  it  will  only  result  in  a  greater 
punishment.  It  was  Jehovah  who  had  bruised,  and  he 
only  could  deliver,  or  bind  up.  This  pair  of  terms 
often  occur  together. 

Words  of  confession  and  repentance  are  put  into 
the  mouths  of  the  sinning  people  in  the  beginning  of 
ch.  6.  The  rest  of  the  chapter  shows  that  the  break¬ 
ing  of  the  covenant  caused  the  desolation  that  was 
coming.  And  ch.  7  continues  the  same  thought.  They 
had  sunken  to  the  lowest  depths  of  sin.  They  would  be 
devoured.  They  might  fly  to  Egypt  or  Assyria  for 
help ;  they  would  be  taken  like  birds  in  a  net. 

The  trumpet  sounds  the  alarm  in  ch.  8.  An  invader 
is  coming  like  an  eagle,  or  vulture,  swooping  down 


90 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


upon  the  nation.  Instead  of  their  idols  saving  them, 
they  would  be  the  cause  of  their  destruction.  The 
heathen  to  whom  they  look  for  help  would  devour. 
They  treated  with  contempt  the  laws  that  God  wrote 
for  them,  and  so  far  as  they  have  observed  the  law 
it  was  mere  form.  So  instead  of  the  sacrifices  securing 
a  removal  of  sin,  their  iniquity  would  still  be  remem¬ 
bered. 

Ch.  9  contains  threats  of  exile.  They  shall  return  to 
a  condition  of  captivity,  such  as  they  experienced  in 
Egypt,  hence  that  country  is  here  named,  though  it  is 
declared  that  they  shall  go  to  Assyria.  The  great  love 
of  Jehovah  for  the  people  of  Israel  at  the  beginning  of 
her  course  is  here  expressed.  But  all  that  was  attrac¬ 
tive  shall  perish. 

In  ch.  io  the  course  of  thought  is  as  follows  :  Israel 
has  sinned  in  proportion  to  her  prosperity;  altars  are 
many,  and  shall  be  destroyed;  the  very  idols  men 
trusted  in  shall  be  carried  off  with  the  rest;  they  have 
sinned  from  the  first  as  at  Gibeah.  In  ver.  io  the  ref¬ 
erence  is  probably  to  the  two  calves  set  up  for  worship. 
This  suggests  the  figure  of  a  heifer  plowing,  and  this, 
the  figure  of  sowing  and  reaping. 

Ch.  ii  starts  with  the  thought  that  Jehovah  had 
loved  the  people  from  the  beginning,  and  had  been 
calling  to  them  ever  since  they  came  out  of  Egypt.  He 
had  been  tenderly  holding  them.  But  because  of  their 
sins  they  shall  go  away  into  exile.  The  threat  made 
long  before  that  the  land  should  be  like  the  cities  of 
the  plain,  shall  now  be  fulfilled.  Yet  afterwards  they 
shall  be  gathered  again  because  of  God’s  great  love  and 
unswerving  purpose. 


Hosea 


91 


The  thought  in  ch.  12  is  the  weakness  and  poverty 
of  the  Israelites  in  their  origin,  as  illustrated  by  the 
history  of  their  ancestor  Jacob,  the  goodness  of  God 
shown  in  all  that  he  had  done  for  them,  and  the  pun¬ 
ishment  that  shall  result  from  their  sin. 

So  in  ch.  13  the  wickedness  of  Israel  in  turning  to 
worship  idols  is  put  in  strong  contrast  with  the  fact 
that  Jehovah  had  taken  the  people  for  his  own,  and 
there  was  no  other  that  could  help.  The  expression  in 
v.  14  is  better  understood  as  a  threat  than  a  promise, 
because  all  the  context  is  threat.  Death  and  the  grave 
are  summoned  to  destroy. 

After  all  the  terrible  threats  in  the  most  of  the  book, 
the  promise  of  the  wonderful  favor  of  God  in  ch.  14 
is  all  the  more  emphatic.  They  will  turn  from  their 
false  gods,  and  Jehovah  will  love  them  freely.  The 
beautiful  figures  of  the  lily  and  the  Lebanon  are  used 
to  portray  the  blessed  condition  of  Israel  once  more 
faithful  to  Jehovah. 


VI 


JOEL 

Parallel  reading:  2  Kings  11,  12;  2  Chronicles  23, 
24;  Ezra;  Nehemiah. 

1.  Date  and  Occasion 

The  date  of  Joel  is  not  given  in  his  book,  and  it  can 
be  decided  by  internal  evidence  only.  There  are  two 
chief  views  concerning  it:  some  think  it  to  belong  to 
the  time  of  the  minority  of  Joash  king  of  Judah,  while 
Jehoiada  the  priest  was  acting  as  regent,  others  that  it 
belongs  to  the  post-exilic  period.  The  arguments  for 
these  views  will  be  found  in  the  dictionaries  and  com¬ 
mentaries. 

The  teaching  of  the  book  is  so  general  in  character 
that  it  does  not  depend  upon  the  historical  occasion  of 
the  prophet.  Its  meaning  remains  the  same  whatever 
date  be  accepted  as  correct. 

The  special  occasion  of  the  prophecy  was  the  severe 
devastation  of  the  land  by  locusts  as  a  punishment  for 
the  sin  of  turning  away  from  Jehovah.  The  warning 
that  a  worse  calamity  would  come  unless  the  people 
repented,  was  heeded.  Then  the  calamity  and  the 
blessings  promised  suggest  the  more  terrible  day  of 
Jehovah  and  greater  spiritual  blessings. 

2.  The  Chief  Work  of  Joel 

Like  almost  all  the  other  prophets  the  work  of  Joel 
was  to  induce  the  people  to  repent.  It  is  remarkable 

92 


Joel 


93 


that  no  specific  sin  is  named  as  being  the  cause  of  the 
calamity  that  had  come.  It  seems  merely  that  in  some 
way  the  people  had  turned  away  from  Jehovah.  We 
might  suppose  that  if  they  had  actually  fallen  into 
idolatry,  it  would  have  been  distinctly  mentioned. 
Unlike  what  was  true  of  the  effect  of  the  messages  of 
the  other  prophets,  Joel’s  warning  was  heeded ;  the  peo¬ 
ple  repented,  and  that  gave  occasion  to  the  prophet  to 
predict  that  they  would  receive  abundant  blessings 
from  Jehovah,  among  them  the  overthrow  of  their 
enemies. 

3.  The  Chief  Thought  of  the  Book 

All  the  contents  of  this  book  may  be  connected  with 
the  term  “  judgment.”  The  locusts  had  been  sent  as 
a  judgment,  but  a  worse  one  would  come  if  the  people 
did  not  repent;  they  could  avert  it  if  they  did.  Then 
the  idea  of  judgment  is  presented  in  the  prediction  of 
the  gathering  of  all  the  nations  who  had  shown  enmity 
to  Jehovah  that  they  might  be  judged  in  the  valley 
of  judgment.  Such  judgment  would  result  in  punish¬ 
ment  coming  upon  the  heathen,  but  blessings  upon 
God’s  people.  Both  the  locust  devastation  and  the 
future  judgment  predicted  are  associated  with  the  term 
“  day  of  Jehovah.”  With  this  there  is  always  the  idea 
of  punishment. 

4.  The  Divisions  of  the  Book 

There  are  two  clear  divisions:  (i)  Ch.  i  :  i  to 
2  :  17;  and  (2)  2  :  18  to  3  :  21.  In  the  first  division 
the  people  of  all  classes  are  aroused  to  the  greatness 
of  the  calamity  that  had  come,  and  that  might  be 


94 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


still  worse.  The  extent  of  the  devastation  is  described 
in  vivid  terms,  and  the  people  are  urged  to  repent.  The 
thought  is  clear,  the  style  simple. 

In  the  second  division,  it  seems  best  to  understand 
that  the  repentance  had  taken  place,  rather  than  to 
suppose  that  the  prophet  assumed  that  the  people 
would  repent.  Here  we  have  the  answer1  of  Jehovah, 
promising  first  every  temporal  blessing,  especially  such 
as  would  result  from  the  rain  that  had  been  sent  to  end 
the  drought  that  accompanied  the  locust  calamity. 
Then  spiritual  blessings  are  promised,  the  greatest 
being  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  by  which  the 
hearts  of  the  people  would  be  refreshed  as  the  ground 
had  been  by  the  rain,  and  they  would  all  show  their 
close  relation  to  God  by  the  signs  common  in  Old 
Testament  times,  dreams  and  visions. 

5.  The  Chief  Teaching  of  the  Book 

The  fact  that  God  will  punish  for  sin  is  taught.  That 
some  physical  calamities  were  sent  as  judgments  in 
Old  Testament  times  is  also  taught.  The  Israelites 
could  know  that  the  locusts  were  sent  as  a  judgment 
because  the  prophet  of  God  said  so.  Such  judgments 
were  for  the  purpose  of  teaching,  (i  Cor.  io  :  n.) 
We  may  not  understand  calamities  as  judgments  now, 
because  the  period  of  teaching  culminated  with  the 
coming  of  Christ. 

Joel  teaches  that  God  readily  forgives  when  his  peo¬ 
ple  repent.  The  blessings  that  had  been  withheld  came, 
it  would  seem,  quickly  after  the  prayer. 

The  term  “  day  of  Jehovah  ”  occurs  in  Joel  for  the 
first  time,  and  it  means  here,  as  always,  a  time  of  judg- 


Joel 


95 


ment.  In  the  second  part  of  the  book  the  day  was  one 
of  threatening  to  the  heathen  only.  A  distinction  is 
made  between  God’s  people  and  all  others,  and  here  it 
is  determined  by  nationality.  The  heathen  are  sinners 
and  will  be  punished;  God’s  people  are  righteous,  and 
will  be  blessed. 

The  promised  giving  of  the  Spirit  of  God  was  not 
fulfilled  till  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  it  only  began 
to  be  fulfilled. 

The  whole  of  the  book  is  very  simple  and  the 
thought  easily  followed. 


VII 


AMOS 

Parallel  reading:  The  same  as  for  the  book  of 
Hosea,  and  2  Chronicles  26. 

1.  Date  and  Historical  Occasion 

Amos  prophesied  about  750  B.  C.,  while  Jeroboam 
was  king  of  Israel,  and  Uzziah  king  of  Judah.  His 
work  came  before  that  of  Hosea,  though  the  occa¬ 
sion  of  both  was  practically  the  same.  His  home  was 
in  Judah,  but  he  prophesied  in  Israel,  being  sent  there 
with  a  special  message. 

The  further  statement  that  the  time  was  two  years 
before  the  earthquake  is  supposed  to  refer  to  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  a  threat  found  in  his  prophecy.  (Ch.  8:8; 

9 ;  so 

The  marked  prosperity  of  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  of 
Israel  led  to  luxury,  greed,  sensuousness,  oppression, 
religious  indifference.  Hence  Amos  was  sent  from  the 
care  of  his  flocks  to  condemn  Israel,  and  tell  of  the 
imminent  punishment. 

The  purpose  in  naming  the  time  of  a  prophecy  seems 
to  have  been  to  give  aid  to  understand  it.  The  men¬ 
tion  of  the  reign  of  Uzziah  was  probably  because  the 
success  of  that  king  too  led  to  conditions  in  Judah 
similar  to  those  in  Israel,  and  shows  how  Amos  was 
at  times  led  to  include  Judah  within  the  scope  of  his 
threat. 

96 


Amos 


97 


The  northern  kingdom  began  935  B.  C.,  and  when 
Amos  delivered  his  message  the  fall  of  the  kingdom 
was  less  than  thirty  years  away.  These  two  hundred 
years  had  been  a  period  of  unbroken  sinning.  Every 
king  of  Israel  followed  in  the  wickedness  of  the  first. 
The  longsuffering  of  God  that  had  spared  his  people 
so  many  years  was  about  to  end,  so  far  as  that  king¬ 
dom  was  concerned.  Amos  was  to  sound  the  alarm. 

2.  The  Chief  Work  of  Amos 

There  are  not  sufficient  reasons  for  believing  that 
any  parts  of  this  book  were  added  after  the  first  visit 
of  Amos  to  Bethel.  He  had  one  message  to  deliver. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  prevent  this,  but  it  was  not 
successful.  The  prophet  himself  says  he  went  to 
Bethel  to  prophesy  because  Jehovah  sent  him.  It  was 
not  because  he  had  seen  the  wickedness  that  prevailed, 
and  was  therefore  moved  to  speak.  It  was  not  because 
he  was  accustomed  to  simpler  living  in  his  tent  at 
Tekoa,  and  was  envious  of  the  splendid  houses  of  the 
wicked  Israelites.  He  did  not  go  to  deliver  a  message 
that  would  have  occurred  to  any  one  who  looked  at  the 
state  of  things,  and  who  would  easily  see  that  the  end 
of  such  a  course  could  be  ruin  only.  The  kingdom  of 
Israel  was  never  greater  and  more  powerful  than  it 
was  at  the  very  time  that  Amos  went  to  tell  them 
that  utter  destruction  was  at  hand. 

The  power  and  wealth  of  Israel  made  the  powerful 
and  the  rich  feel  secure.  The  most  cruel  oppression 
was  practised  to  satisfy  greater  greed.  The  chief 
thing  that  Amos  had  to  do  was  to  condemn  this  greed, 
and  to  warn  the  oppressors  of  their  impending  doom. 


98 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


The  sin  of  idolatry  is  also  condemned  by  Amos,  but 
most  stress  is  put  upon  the  oppression  of  the  weak  by 
the  strong. 

3.  The  Chief  Thought  of  Amos 

Almost  all  of  this  prophecy  is  taken  up  with  con¬ 
demnation  and  threat.  There  is  comparatively  little  of 
promise  found  in  the  book.  This  is  so  clearly  the  case 
that  some  claim  that  what  promises  we  do  find  must 
have  been  added  by  another,  as  they  are  not  in  accord 
with  the  style  and  general  subject  of  Amos.  His 
dominant  thought  is,  not  only  destruction,  but  destruc¬ 
tion  imminent.  It  is  as  near  at  hand  as  the  enemy  is 
when  the  alarm  trumpet  is  heard.  We  may  suppose 
that  the  danger  would  have  been  averted  even  at  this 
late  day  if  Israel  had  turned  from  sin  and  served  Jeho¬ 
vah.  But  Amos  seems  to  see  no  prospect  of  such 
turning.  The  end  has  come. 

It  cannot  be  maintained,  however,  that  any  promise 
of  restoration  was  out  of  harmony  with  the  purpose 
of  Amos,  that  the  assurance  of  mercy  was  inconsistent 
with  the  message  of  punishment.  If  we  accept  the  fact 
that  God  had  chosen  the  people  of  Israel  in  order  that 
through  them  he  might  make  known  his  purpose  of 
redemption;  then  such  people  must  be  holy,  and  if  they 
sin  they  must  be  punished,  not  to  destroy  them,  but  to 
chastise  them.  God’s  purpose  was  not  to  be  thwarted 
by  the  failure  of  Israel  to  obey.  There  must  be  then 
ultimate  favor;  restoration  must  follow  exile;  blessing 
must  follow  punishment.  If  Amos  or  any  other 
prophet  did  not  speak  of  this  aspect  of  the  course  of 
God’s  dealings  with  his  people,  he  must  yet  have  known 


Amos 


99 


of  it,  and  believed  in  it.  And  as  this  assurance  of  per¬ 
manence  was  as  ancient  as  the  origin  of  God’s  people, 
no  prophecy  was  too  early  to  include  the  thought. 

4.  The  Divisions  of  the  Book 

While  the  contents  of  this  book  form  one  proph¬ 
ecy,  delivered  at  one  time,  they  may  yet  be  divided 
for  convenience  of  study  into  two  chief  divisions, 
besides  an  introduction,  and  a  few  verses  of  promise 
at  the  close. 

Chs.  i,  2  form  the  introduction,  giving  the  general 
thought  that  God  is  coming  to  punish. 

Chs.  3  to  6.  Three  of  these  chapters  begin  with  the 
same  words,  and  the  general  thought  of  all  is,  sins  that 
have  made  punishment  certain  and  near. 

Chs.  7  to  9.  The  main  thought  of  this  division  does 
not  differ  from  that  of  the  preceding,  but  it  is  here 
presented  in  connection  with  visions  that  Amos  had. 

Ch.  9  :  1 1  - 1 5.  These  closing  verses  contain  the 
promise  of  the  restoration  of  God’s  people  and  the 
blessings  that  should  come  to  them. 

5.  The  Chief  Teaching  of  These  Divisions 

Amos  takes  as  a  sort  of  text  for  his  entire  prophecy 
the  words  of  Joel  3  :  16, 

The  Lord  will  roar  from  Zion, 

And  utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem. 

The  thought  is,  God  will  come  to  punish  sin.  Amos 
shows  that  this  will  be  true,  not  only  in  case  of  the 
surrounding  heathen  nations,  but  also  of  Judah,  and 
especially  of  Israel.  It  is  with  Israel  that  he  is  particu- 


100 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


larly  concerned.  But  his  teaching  is  that  sinners  will 
be  punished  whoever  they  are.  The  heathen  shall  be 
punished  for  hostility  to  God’s  people;  Judah,  because 
they  have  despised  the  law  of  Jehovah ;  Israel,  for  their 
wickedness. 

The  repetition  of  the  same  phrases  in  these  succes¬ 
sive  threats  was  not  due  to  a  lack  of  ability  in  Amos, 
but  it  gave  terrible  emphasis  to  his  words.  The  sin 
of  Israel  is  seen  to  be  all  the  greater  because  of  what 
God  had  done  for  them.  In  this  introduction  Amos 
declares  that  the  sinner  shall  not  escape. 

In  the  first  part  of  chapter  3  the  series  of  questions 
show  that  the  prophet  has  come  up  to  Bethel  by  the 
appointment  of  Jehovah,  and  he  has  been  sent  to  warn 
of  danger,  for  when  God  sends  a  judgment  upon  a  city 
he  sends  a  prophet  to  interpret  it  as  such.  When  the 
lion  roars,  when  the  trap  springs,  when  the  trumpet 
sounds,  the  danger  is  at  hand.  The  sin  that  deserved 
such  punishment  was  so  great  that  even  heathen  Egypt 
and  Philistia  would  be  astonished  at  it. 

The  first  part  of  ch.  4  seems  to  have  been  addressed 
to  the  wives  who  were  leaders  in  their  husbands’ 
oppression.  Their  selfish  greed  shall  be  fully  punished. 
Then  follows  a  list  of  a  number  of  chastisements  in 
the  past  which  had  not  wrought  repentance,  hence  a 
greater  shall  now  come. 

In  ch.  5  there  is  exhortation  and  promise  mingled 
with  threat.  Where  joy  had  been  there  should  be  wail¬ 
ing.  If  they  sought  to  flee,  they  would  only  run  into 
another  danger.  In  v.  18  we  have  a  thought  suggest¬ 
ing  the  book  of  Joel.  As  already  stated,  that  prophet 
showed  that  the  day  of  Jehovah  would  be  dark  to  the 


Amos 


101 


nations  only,  while  Israel  would  be  blessed.  These 
wicked  Israelites  in  the  days  of  Amos  seem  to  be  rest¬ 
ing  in  that  belief,  as  though  they  were  safe  in  sinning. 
Amos  teaches  that  they  will  be  punished  as  well  as 
the  heathen.  Their  offerings  to  Jehovah  were  not 
acceptable,  coming  from  wicked  hearts.  What  God 
demanded  was  righteousness,  justice  toward  their 
fellows.  From  their  first  days  in  the  wilderness  they 
had  turned  away  from  Jehovah.  Captivity  then  is  sure. 

Ch.  6  shows  how  completely  the  Israelites  had  given 
themselves  up  to  sensuous  gratification.  They  thought 
no  harm  could  reach  them.  They  were  secure.  The 
leaders  are  here  addressed.  But  they  shall  be  the  first 
to  go  into  captivity.  The  desolation  shall  be  complete. 

In  the  second  part,  beginning  with  ch.  7,  there  are 
a  series  of  visions,  the  first  two  indicating  punishments 
that  had  been  sent  in  the  past,  which  were  stopped 
before  the  people  were  utterly  consumed.  The  third 
vision,  that  of  the  plumbline,  differs  from  the  former 
in  teaching  that  God  would  no  longer  pass  by  their 
sins.  The  test  was  to  be  put  to  the  people,  and  they 
must  meet  it,  or  be  destroyed.  The  basket  of  summer 
fruit  of  the  fourth  vision,  ch.  8,  has  the  same  meaning, 
but  is  still  more  significant.  In  the  Hebrew  the  word 
for  “  summer  fruit  ”  and  the  word  for  “  end  ”  have 
nearly  the  same  sound. 

The  attempt  of  the  priest  of  Bethel  to  stop  Amos 
from  his  task  gave  occasion  for  the  prophet  to  show 
why  he  had  journeyed  from  his  home  to  deliver  such 
severe  messages  against  the  northern  kingdom.  God 
had  sent  him. 

The  wicked  greed  of  the  Israelites  is  especially 


102 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


shown  in  the  eighth  chapter,  in  their  selling  to  the 
poor,  and  even  selling  them  if  they  could  not  pay  what 
they  owed  for  a  pair  of  sandals.  Hence  the  earth¬ 
quake,  darkness,  and  destruction.  God  then  would  not 
hear  their  cry. 

In  ch.  9  the  altar  is  smitten,  the  worshipers  cut 
down  by  the  sword.  None  shall  escape  by  flight.  They 
thought  themselves  the  people  of  Jehovah  because  he 
brought  them  from  Egypt,  so  they  were  safe.  But  God 
had  caused  the  other  nations  also  to  migrate  from  one 
country  to  another.  Israel  was  to  be  different  in  con¬ 
duct,  but  they  were  not,  and  Israelite  sinners  must 
die  like  others. 

Amos  did  not  close  his  message  with  darkness.  He 
added  a  bright  promise  of  hope.  Beginning  at  ver. 
1 1  of  ch.  9  we  have  in  few  words  a  remarkable  pre¬ 
diction  of  the  restoration  and  blessing  of  God’s  people. 
The  nations  would  seek  Jehovah.  (See  the  quotation 
in  Acts  15  :  17.)  The  time  of  captivity  would  end. 
God’s  people  should  be  planted  in  their  land,  and  not 
be  pulled  up  again. 


VIII 


OBADIAH 

Parallel  reading:  2  Kings  8  :  16-24;  2  Chronicles 
21  :  5-17;  2  Kings  25;  Jeremiah  52.  Compare  a 
similar  prophecy  in  Jeremiah  49  :  7-22. 

1.  Date  and  Historical  Occasion 

Some  think  that  Obadiah  prophesied  during  the 
reign  of  Jehoram  king  of  Judah,  when  the  Edomites 
rebelled  against  the  authority  of  Jehoram,  and  with¬ 
stood  his  attack  upon  them,  about  845  B.  C.  There 
is  more  reason  for  taking  the  view  that  the  book 
belongs  to  the  time  immediately  after  the  fall  of  Jerusa¬ 
lem.  (586.)  Some  of  the  peoples  around  Judah  had 
aided  the  army  of  Nebuchadrezzar  in  subduing  Judah 
a  few  years  before.  (2  Kings  24  :  2.)  It  may  be 
easily  seen  that  Edom  would  be  glad  to  share  in  the 
despoiling  of  her  old  enemy  and  former  ruler.  Edom 
itself  afterwards  was  invaded  by  enemies,  and  ceased 
to  exist  as  an  independent  people  in  the  days  of  the 
Maccabees. 

2.  The  Theme  of  the  Prophecy 

This  prophecy  is  concerned  wholly  about  Edom  in 
its  relation  to  Judah.  It  is  the  smallest  of  the  prophets, 
but  contains  important  truth.  Edom  is  condemned  for 
taking  part  in  the  overthrow  of  Judah.  When  Jerusa¬ 
lem  was  spoiled,  the  Edomites  shared  in  the  plunder. 
H  103 


104 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


Obadiah  condemns  them  for  their  hostility,  declares 
their  rocky  fastnesses  will  not  protect  them,  predicts 
an  invasion  of  their  land  and  the  utter  destruction  of 
the  whole  people.  Connected  with  the  threat  against 
Edom  there  is  a  prediction  of  the  establishment  and 
prosperity  of  God’s  people. 

3.  The  Course  of  Thought 

Messengers  are  sent  to  the  other  nations  to  summon 
them  to  make  war  upon  Edom,  ver.  i.  Edom  thought 
herself  perfectly  safe  among  her  lofty  crags,  but  Jeho¬ 
vah  would  bring  her  down,  and  all  her  treasures  would 
be  carried  off,  far  more  thoroughly  than  robbers  would 
do,  or  grape-gatherers,  ver.  3-6.  Edom’s  former  allies 
will  not  help  her,  ver.  7.  Her  own  famous  wisdom 
will  utterly  fail  to  deliver  her,  ver.  8,  9. 

The  reason  for  this  destruction  is  that  Edom  had 
committed  violence  upon  Judah.  When  Jerusalem 
was  taken,  the  Edomites  had  entered  the  city  with  the 
enemy,  had  shared  the  spoil,  had  rejoiced  in  Judah’s 
calamity,  had  stood  at  the  crossroads  to  intercept  any 
that  fled,  and  delivered  all  the  captives  they  caught 
into  the  hand  of  the  chief  enemy,  ver.  10-14. 

Because  the  “  day  of  Jehovah,”  that  awful  day  of 
punishment,  is  coming  upon  all  the  heathen  nations, 
Edom  especially  will  perish  for  her  act,  ver.  15,  16. 

In  the  rest  of  the  prophecy  there  is  presented,  in 
strong  contrast  with  the  destruction  of  Edom,  the 
permanence  and  wide  possessions  of  Jacob.  It  is  to  be 
noticed  that  the  prophet  uses  the  names  of  the  two 
brothers,  Jacob  and  Esau,  founders  of  the  two  peo¬ 
ples,  thus  calling  attention  to  the  original  promise  of 


Obadiah 


105 


God  that  the  older  should  serve  the  younger,  and 
promising  now  that  Jacob  shall  continue  to  hold  the 
possessions  given  him,  which  Esau  cannot  take. 

Jacob  shall  be  as  fire  consuming  the  whole  of  Esau 
as  stubble.  There  shall  not  be  even  a  remnant  left  to 
Edom.  In  the  case  of  almost  all  the  other  enemies  of 
Israel  there  is  something  of  hope  held  out  that  they 
will  after  punishment  come  into  the  favor  of  God. 
Edom  shall  perish. 

The  translation  of  ver.  19  obscures  the  thought, 
'  which  is  quite  expressive.  The  prediction  is  that 
instead  of  the  Negeb  (“  south  ”)  being  a  district  held 
only  in  part  by  Judah,  it  shall  be  fully  inhabited  by 
God’s  people,  and  its  inhabitants  shall  extend  their  pos¬ 
sessions  to  the  land  where  Esau  dwells ;  the  Shephelah 
(“the  plain”),  the  strip  of  hilly  land  lying  between 
the  highland  of  Judah  and  the  plain  of  Philistia,  some¬ 
times  occupied  by  the  Philistines,  sometimes  by  Judah, 
the  scene  of  so  many  conflicts,  shall  not  only  be  inhab¬ 
ited  by  Judah,  but  its  inhabitants  shall  extend  their 
possessions  to  the  very  land  of  Philistia.  So  all  the 
upper  part  of  the  land,  and  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  shall 
be  occupied  by  the  people  of  Jacob.  They  shall  be  far 
from  being  dispossessed  by  Esau. 

The  language  of  ver.  20  is  obscure,  but  the  general 
thought  is  clear.  The  Israelites  who  should  be  taken 
captive,  would  again  return  and  possess  the  whole 
of  the  land  that  God  had  given  to  them.  When  Zion 
should  be  inhabited  by  the  saved  of  God’s  people, 
Edom  should  be  condemned.  This  would  result  from 
the  great  fact  that  the  right  of  kingship  belongs  to 
Jehovah.  He  is  sovereign  over  nations. 


IX 


JONAH 

Parallel  reading:  2  Kings  14  :  23-29;  Nahum. 

1.  Date  and  Occasion  of  the  Book 

The  events  connected  with  the  career  of  Jonah  here 
narrated  belong  to  the  time  of  the  prosperous  reign  of 
Jeroboam,  already  considered  in  connection  with  the 
prophecies  of  Hosea  and  Amos.  It  was  thedime  of  the 
excessive  wickedness  of  the  Israelites.  The  king  had 
followed  the  advice  of  Jonah  in  some  of  his  policies, 
and  had  extended  his  dominion  thereby.  (2  Kings 
14  :  25.)  The  kingdom  of  Israel  had  been  greatly 
reduced  by  the  Arameans  in  the  reigns  of  the  immedi¬ 
ate  predecessors  of  Jeroboam,  but  the  time  for  the 
final  punishment  of  the  people  had  not  yet  come,  and 
deliverance  was  wrought  through  Jeroboam.  But  his 
successes  led  to  even  greater  sin.  The  former  help  of 
Jehovah  was  forgotten.  The  obligation  to  serve  God 
was  ignored.  The  teaching  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  had 
grown  dim.  There  were  schools  of  prophets,  but 
they  were  inefficient  to  stop  the  rapid  course  of  apos¬ 
tasy.  The  doom  of  Israel  was  not  far  away.  It  was 
at  such  a  time  that  the  teaching  of  the  mission  of 
Jonah  was  given.  The  book  of  Jonah  cannot  be  rightly 
understood  without  considering  the  condition  of  Israel 
at  the  time. 

106 


Jonah 


107 


2.  The  Purpose  of  the  Book 

We  have  in  this  book  the  history  of  acts  of  Jonah, 
rather  than  a  record  of  the  words  of  Jonah.  The  book 
gives  Jonah’s  mission  rather  than  Jonah’s  prophecies. 
Yet  the  book  is  wholly  a  prophecy.  It  was  intended  to 
teach  the  Israelites  that  God  demanded  repentance 
from  sin,  and  that  in  his  great  mercy  he  would  forgive 
if  they  repented. 

Jonah  was  commanded  to  go  to  Nineveh,  and  pre¬ 
dict  its  early  overthrow.  Aside  from  the  idolatry  that 
prevailed  in  Nineveh  usually,  we  do  not  know  what 
special  sin  led  to  this  special  threat.  It  may  have  been 
worse  idolatry,  greater  immorality,  or  the  intention 
to  advance  against  Israel  to  destroy  it.  The  particu¬ 
lar  occasion  of  the  prophet’s  mission,  so  far  as  Nineveh 
is  concerned,  is  not  given,  and  it  is  immaterial. 

Jonah’s  mission  to  this  heathen  city  was  not  meant 
for  Nineveh,  so  much  as  it  was  for  Israel.  The 
announcement  of  the  prophet  that  the  great  city  was  to 
be  overthrown  was  made  without  condition,  yet  a  con¬ 
dition  must  have  been  implied,  for  when  the  city 
repented  in  sackcloth,  the  calamity  was  thereby  averted. 
The  warning  then  was  to  secure  repentance,  and  the 
repentance  brought  forgiveness.  By  this  Israel  was 
to  be  impressively  taught  that  the  mercy  of  Jehovah 
was  great  enough  to  save  from  destruction  even  this 
wicked,  heathen  city,  Israel’s  greatest  foe. 

A  further  purpose  of  the  book  of  Jonah,  though 
this  is  not  so  obvious,  may  have  been  to  teach  that 
Jehovah  was  not  only  sovereign  over  all  peoples,  but 
was  concerned  about  their  religious  condition,  as  well 


108 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


as  that  of  Israel.  The  people  of  Israel  was  not  chosen 
for  its  sake  alone,  but  that  through  it  the  nations  of 
the  earth  might  be  blessed,  and  though  the  highest 
form  of  such  blessing  would  be  secured  through  the 
Messiah,  before  he  should  come  the  blessing  of  God’s 
mercy  and  love  might  be  theirs.  The  other  prophets, 
as  Isaiah,  do  teach  that  the  Gentiles  were  to  be  united 
with  the  Jews  as  one  people  of  God  to  serve  him. 

3.  Chief  Points  to  Be  Noted 

Other  prophets  delivered  messages  about  the  out¬ 
side  nations,  but  they  were  not  sent  to  preach  to  them. 
The  reason  that  Jonah  at  first  refused  to  go  was 
because  he  expected  the  people  of  Nineveh  would  be 
forgiven  by  God,  and  that  he  did  not  wish.  They  were 
Israel’s  enemies,  and  Jonah  wished  them  destroyed. 
He  probably  would  have  gone  gladly  if  he  had 
expected  his  threat  would  have  been  fulfilled. 

Even  the  sailors  were  made  to  know  Jehovah 
through  the  presence  of  Jonah,  and  their  prayer  was 
heard. 

The  fish  that  God  prepared  to  swallow  up  Jonah  was 
of  importance,  but  we  should  not  regard  the  fish  as  the 
chief  thing  in  the  book.  The  great  teaching  of  the 
book  should  not  be  obscured  by  a  flippancy  that  makes 
it  all  an  occasion  for  a  joke. 

The  Ninevites  may  already  have  known  of  the  God 
of  the  Israelites,  and  thus  were  the  more  ready  to  heed 
his  prophet’s  warning.  Their  repentance  was  evidently 
sincere,  though  it  may  not  have  been  lasting. 

Jonah  would  gladly  have  seen  the  destruction  of 
Nineveh  but  grieved  for  the  gourd. 


X 


MICAH 

Parallel  reading :  The  same  as  noted  for  Isaiah. 

1.  Date  and  Historical  Occasion 

Micah  prophesied  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  and 
belonged  to  the  same  period  as  Isaiah.  The  conditions 
that  led  to  the  work  of  Isaiah  produced  also  the  mes¬ 
sages  of  Micah.  Uzziah,  who  is  named  as  the  first 
king  in  Isaiah’s  career,  is  not  mentioned  in  the  title  of 
the  book  of  Micah,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  Isaiah 
had  been  engaged  in  his  work  very  long  when  Micah 
entered  upon  his  work.  The  wickedness  of  the  people, 
idolatry,  oppression,  crime  of  every  sort,  the  failure  of 
the  king,  all  these  led  Micah  also  to  condemn  and 
threaten.  The  character  of  his  work  was  thus  deter¬ 
mined  by  the  conditions  of  his  time. 

2.  The  Chief  Thought  of  the  Book 

The  controlling  ideas  in  the  book  of  Micah  are  very 
similar  to  those  found  in  Isaiah.  There  is  the  con¬ 
demnation  of  the  people  for  their  sins,  the  threat  that 
punishment  will  come  upon  them,  with  the  promise  of 
the  restoration  and  reestablishment  of  God’s  people. 
The  rich  ones  of  the  nation  are  condemned  for  oppress¬ 
ing  the  poor ;  the  judges  and  priests,  who  should  have 
been  leaders  in  good,  are  condemned  because  they  have 

109 


110 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


led  in  wickedness;  the  false  prophets  are  threatened 
because  they  have  led  the  people  into  error  instead  of 
into  right,  they  promised  plenty  and  security  when 
there  was  punishment  at  hand,  they  professed  to  speak 
for  God  when  he  had  given  them  no  message. 

Along  with  these  threats  there  are  bright  promises 
in  Micah.  There  is  scarcely  any  exhortation.  It  would 
seem  that  the  prophet  saw  no  hope  that  the  people 
would  turn  from  their  sins,  but  would  go  on  to  the 
destruction  that  was  before  them.  But  beyond  the  fall 
he  saw  that  the  kingdom  would  rise  again.  His  Mes¬ 
sianic  ideas  are  not  given  with  such  fulness  as  in  Isaiah, 
but  they  are  at  times  A^ery  clear.  He,  too,  foretells  of 
the  coming  of  the  heathen  to  the  service  of  Jehovah. 

In  the  future  that  he  sees  there  would  be  no  more 
idolatry,  no  more  corruption,  no  apostasy  from  Jeho¬ 
vah.  God’s  people  would  be  in  the  light,  and  the  enemy 
in  the  darkness. 

Micah  teaches  that  God  demands  right  living,  rather 
than  sacrifices.  Forms  of  worship  are  condemned,  not 
because  they  are  wrong,  but  because:  they  are  not 
enough. 

3.  The  General  Style  of  Micah’s  Writing 

The  prophecies  of  Micah  are  not  so  simple  as  some 
of  the  others,  Joel,  or  Amos,  but  they  are  more  easy  to 
understand  than  much  that  we  find  in  Hosea.  It  is 
likely  that  much  in  the  book  is  made  up  of  abstracts  of 
the  original  messages  delivered  orally  to  the  people. 

There  are  instances  of  what  is  called  paronomasia, 
giving  a  thought  suggested  by  the  sound  of  a  name.  A 
remarkable  instance  of  this  occurs  in  ch.  i.  This  is 


Micali 


111 


not,  however,  punning.  Isaiah  makes  some  of  his 
thoughts  very  impressive  by  the  same  means.  The 
connection  of  thought  is  abrupt  in  some  places,  and 
often  there  is  a  sudden  change  from  threat  to  prom¬ 
ise,  the  two  being  found  mingled,  as  in  Isaiah.  A 
number  of  cases  of  references  to  what  Isaiah  had  been 
prophesying  occur,  expressions  being  used  that  would 
be  difficult  to  understand  without  help  from  the  other 
prophet.  (See  5  :  3;  7  :  11;  cf.  Isa.  7  :  14;  5  :  5.) 

There  are  allusions  to  the  past  history  of  the  Israel¬ 
ites,  showing  what  God  had  done  for  them,  and  refer¬ 
ences  to  the  laws  that  had  been  given.  These  are  not 
so  numerous,  however,  as  they  are  in  Hosea  and  Amos. 

4.  Divisions  of  the  Book 

The  contents  of  this  book  are  not  divided  into  very 
clear  divisions,  yet  the  following  groups  may  be  recog¬ 
nized  : 

Ch.  1-3.  In  these  chapters  there  is  especially  threat 
against  Samaria  as  well  as  Judah,  description  of  the 
devastation  of  the  latter,  ch.  1,  condemnation  of  the 
greedy,  and  the  false  prophets,  who  shall  perish,  and 
the  rulers  who  oppress  for  gain,  with  the  prediction  of 
the  utter  overthrow  of  Zion,  ch.  2,  3. 

Chs.  4  and  5.  This  division  is  full  of  promise.  The 
outcast  shall  be  regathered ;  enemies  shall  be  overcome, 
and  God’s  people  shall  trust  in  him. 

Chs.  6  and  7.  Here  we  find  charges  of  sin,  espe¬ 
cially  oppression  and  idolatry,  and  a  statement  of 
what  God  required  of  his  people.  The  latter  part  is 
a  repetition  of  the  promised  restoration  and  triumph 
over  enemies. 


112 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


5.  The  Course  of  Thought 

Ch.  i  begins  with  the  announcement  of  the  coming 
of  Jehovah  to  punish  the  people,  with  a  special  threat 
against  Samaria,  which  had  not  yet  fallen.  But  the 
devastation  is  to  extend  into  Judah.  The  progress  of 
this  is  described  along  with  the  naming  of  the  cities 
of  Judah  affected. 

In  ch.  2  the  rulers  who  oppress  are  threatened ;  their 
land  shall  be  taken  from  them ;  they  are  to  be  exiled 
from  Palestine,  which  shall  not  be  their  land  of  rest,  for 
they  have  evicted  the  women  from  their  homes.  But  a 
promise  is  added  to  this  division.  (Ch.  2  :  12,  13.) 

Ch.  3  begins  with  the  condemnation  of  the  rulers 
who  afflict  the  poor.  Then  the  prophets  who  deliver 
messages  only  that  they  may  be  supported  by  the  peo¬ 
ple,  and  who  lead  the  people  astray,  are  assured  that 
they  shall  enter  into  darkness,  and  be  put  to  confusion. 
On  the  other  hand,  Micah  is  strong  and  bold  to  speak 
the  truth.  He  condemns  the  leaders,  and  predicts  that 
their  holy  city  shall  be  like  a  field  that  is  plowed. 

In  the  beginning  of  ch.  4  there  is  a  passage  parallel 
with  the  one  in  ch.  2  of  Isaiah,  a  remarkable  promise 
of  the  worship  of  Jehovah  by  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  This  is  closely  connected  with  the  close  of  ch. 
3,  giving  the  destruction  of  Zion.  Not  only  shall  it 
be  the  city  of  God’s  chosen  people  again,  but  the  holy 
city  of  all  peoples.  Meantime  desolation  shall  come, 
and  Zion  shall  lament,  and  shall  go  to  Babylon,  but 
afterwards  she  shall  be  restored,  and  shall  conquer  her 
enemies. 

In  ch.  5  there  is  the  specific  prediction  of  the  birth- 


Micah 


113 


place  of  the  coming  Messiah,  Ruler  and  Defender  of 
God’s  people,  who  shall  be  both  a  blessing  and  a 
power  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  When  the  peo¬ 
ple  have  been  restored  they  will  no  longer  trust  in  any¬ 
thing  but  Jehovah.  All  that  has  been  a  source  of  sin 
and  apostasy  will  be  cut  off. 

Ch.  6  opens  with  a  form  of  controversy  between  God 
and  his  people,  who  are  condemned  because  they  have 
forsaken  him,  while  he  has  done  so  much  for  them. 
Then  ver.  6-12  show  what  is  really  required  of  the 
people:  not  sacrifices,  but  justice  and  righteousness, 
instead  of  the  corruption  that  still  prevails.  Hence  the 
land  shall  be  made  a  desolation.  They  are  following 
in  the  sins  of  Israel. 

In  the  first  part  of  ch.  7  the  picture  of  the  social  con¬ 
dition  of  Judah  is  a  sad  one.  There  is  not  one  good 
man  left;  all  are  earnestly  engaged  in  wickedness;  no 
one  can  be  trusted.  The  case  seems  hopeless.  The 
prophet  then  looks  forward  to  the  time  when  the  pun¬ 
ishment  shall  have  passed ;  when  Zion’s  enemy  shall 
be  put  to  shame ;  when  the  hedge  about  God’s  vineyard 
should  be  built  up  again,  and  the  decree  of  its  destruc¬ 
tion  should  be  afar  off,  ver.  1 1 ;  God’s  people  shall 
come  back  from  captivity,  and  their  enemies  shall  be 
subdued.  In  that  day  the  ancient  promises  of  God  will 
be  fulfilled. 


XI 


NAHUM 

Parallel  reading:  2  Chronicles  32,  33;  Isaiah  10  : 
5-27- 

1.  Date  and  Occasion 

There  is  nothing  in  the  title  of  Nahum  to  indicate 
the  time  of  the  prophecy,  but  the  contents  of  the  book 
help  to  fix  the  date  within  narrow  limits.  The  refer¬ 
ence  (3  :  8)  to  No-Amon  of  Egypt  (Thebes),  which 
was  overthrown  by  the  Assyrians  664  B.  C,  would 
indicate  that  the  fall  of  that  city  had  already  taken 
place,  perhaps  recently.  Nahum  prophesied  then  after 
that  date.  He  foretells  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  which 
occurred  606  B.  C.,  and  thus  his  prophecy  was  before 
that  date.  Since  he  was  a  prophet,  and  not  a  historian, 
we  need  not  suppose  that  what  he  describes  was  already 
beginning  when  he  wrote.  He  was  in  Judah,  not  at 
Nineveh,  and  was  not  an  eye-witness  to  the  invasion 
of  Nineveh  which  he  portrays. 

His  prediction  of  Nineveh’s  fall  did  not  require  an 
actual  oppression  of  Judah  by  Assyria  at  the  time  of 
his  prophecy.  Assyria  had  been  an  enemy  long  enough, 
and  her  cruel  oppression  had  been  burdensome  enough, 
to  give  a  sufficient  occasion  for  the  threat  of  her 
destruction  that  Nahum  makes. 

The  conjecture  that  the  first  chapter  of  this  book  was 

114 


Nahum 


115 


not  written  by  Nahum,  but  belongs  to  the  post-exilic 
period,  lacks  certainty  at  least.  Its  thought  is  as 
appropriate  to  the  time  of  Nahum  as  to  any  later  time. 
Confidence  in  the  hope  of  the  overthrow  of  the  enemies 
of  Judah  did  not  originate  late.  The  book  may  be 
studied,  so  far  as  its  teaching  is  concerned,  as  a  unit. 

Two  centuries  before  the  time  of  Nahum  Assyria 
was  a  mighty  power  in  the  east,  and  subdued  in 
repeated  campaigns  the  countries  lying  to  the  west  of 
her  own  territory,  including  Israel  in  the  days  of  Ahab 
and  Jehu.  Then  the  power  of  Assyria  declined,  but 
rose  again  (745)  under  the  reign  of  Tiglath-pileser 
III.  This  king  overthrew  Damascus,  and  made  Judah 
tributary.  (732  B.  C. )  This  was  the  first  time  that 
there  had  been  a  direct  contact  between  Assyria  and 
Judah,  and  except  for  a  part  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah, 
who  sought  independence  of  this  foreign  power,  Judah 
remained  subject  to  Assyria  till  the  dominance  of  the 
latter  ceased  with  the  death  of  her  great  king  Ashur- 
banipal.  (625  B.  C. ) 

During  this  time  of  Assyria’s  sway,  and  while  she 
was  yet  strong,  Nahum  tells  of  her  fall. 

2.  The  Theme 

All  of  this  prophecy  is  about  the  fall  of  Nineveh. 
Nahum  has  no  message  of  condemnation  for  Judah, 
nor  message  of  promise,  except  in  the  assurance  of  the 
destruction  of  Judah’s  enemy,  which  furnishes  ground 
for  the  one  direct  word  of  comfort,  ch.  1  :  13,  15. 

The  prophecy  has  in  its  beginning  a  summary  of 
the  teaching  that  belonged  to  the  destruction  that 
God  would  bring  upon  Nineveh.  The  first  chapter 


116 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


asserts  the  might  of  Jehovah  against  those  who  rise  up 
against  him,  declaring  that  he  will  cut  them  off  forever. 
In  form  the  threat  is  terrific. 

The  description  of  the  destruction  of  Nineveh  is 
exceedingly  vivid.  The  language  of  this  prophecy  is 
recognized  as  surpassing  in  sublimity  and  fire,  in 
intensity  of  force  and  picturesqueness.  The  reader 
will  gain  much  in  ability  to  realize  the  meaning  of  the 
prophet’s  words  by  adopting  the  present  tense  instead 
of  the  future  throughout  most  of  chs.  2  and  3. 

The  prediction  of  the  fall  of  the  Assyrians  by  Nahum 
does  not  stand  alone.  Isaiah  had  declared  that  they 
should  be  destroyed  after  God  had  used  them  to  punish 
his  people.  (Isa.  10  :  5-27.)  Hosea  and  Amos  fore¬ 
told  the  captivity  of  Israel  by  Assyria,  and  predicted 
the  return  of  God’s  people  from  exile,  which  would 
imply  the  fall  of  the  Assyrian  power. 

The  reason  for  this  destruction  is  given  by  Nahum. 
It  was  not  that  Nineveh  had  been  the  seat  of  idolatry, 
nor  a  cruel  power  destroying  the  nations  merely. 
Nineveh  was  condemned  because  of  her  hostility  to 
Jehovah.  She  had  imagined  evil  against  Jehovah, 
1  :  11.  This  is  the  usual  ground  of  condemnation  of 
the  heathen  found  in  the  prophets. 

3.  The  Course  of  Thought 

Chapter  1  is  a  psalm  setting  forth  the  general 
thought  that  Jehovah  punishes  his  enemies,  and  is  a 
stronghold  for  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  He 
is  so  almighty  that  none  should  hope  to  withstand 
him.  They  who  think  evil  against  him  shall  be  like 
thorns  and  stubble  in  the  fire.  The  enemy  had  put 


Nahum 


117 


a  yoke  upon  God’s  people,  but  it  should  be  broken,  and 
Judah  shall  resume  her  service  to  Jehovah  in  peace. 

Ch.  2  gives  the  description  of  the  siege  of  Nineveh 
and  the  reason  for  it,  ver.  I,  2;  the  tumult  inside  of 
the  city,  ver.  3-5;  the  fall  of  the  city,  ver.  6,  7;  the 
flight  of  her  many  inhabitants,  ver.  8;  the  looting  of 
the  city,  ver.  9,  10;  Nineveh,  though  she  had  torn  her 
prey  like  a  lion,  should  perish,  ver.  11-13. 

In  ch.  3,  after  pronouncing  woe  upon  the  city 
because  it  was  full  of  bloody  plunder,  ver.  1,  the 
prophet  returns  to  a  most  graphic  description  of  the 
conflict,  ver.  2,  3.  Then  the  shame  and  degradation  of 
Nineveh  is  threatened  because  of  her  idolatrous  power, 
ver.  4-6. 

She  will  have  none  to  help  her,  and  will  be  as 
defenseless,  and  as  surely  destroyed,  as  the  city  of  No 
was  in  Egypt,  ver.  7-10.  The  fortresses  of  Nineveh 
will  not  protect,  those  hiding  in  them  will  be  shaken 
out  as  easily  as  figs  from  a  tree;  her  men  will  be 
weak,  the  enemy  will  enter,  ver.  11-13.  She  may 
prepare  for  the  siege,  ver.  14,  but  they  will  be  de¬ 
stroyed,  ver.  15.  Those  in  Nineveh  may  be  as  many 
as  swarms  of  locusts,  they  will  be  devoured  as  leaves 
are  devoured  by  locusts,  ver.  15-17. 

The  leaders  of  Assyria  lie  scattered,  sleeping  in 
death;  the  calamity  upon  the  city  is  beyond  remedy, 
and  all  that  hear  of  her  fall  will  clap  their  hands  for 
joy,  because  they  have  all  suffered  from  her,  ver. 
18,  19. 


XII 


HABAKKUK 

Parallel  reading:  2  Kings  21  to  25;  2  Chronicles  33 
to  36;  Isaiah  10:  5-27. 

1.  Date  and  Historical  Occasion 

Habakkuk  prophesied  probably  about  605  B.  C.  In 
the  former  part  of  that  century  the  reign  of  Manasseh 
had  been  excessively  wicked.  Reforms  had  been  insti¬ 
tuted  by  Josiah,  but  the  people  were  not  turned  back  to 
Jehovah  in  faithfulness.  They  continued  in- sin.  Idol¬ 
atry  was  prevalent.  After  the  death  of  Josiah  (608), 
the  condition  of  Judah  grew  more  hopeless.  The  king 
Jehoiakim  led  his  people  into  deeper  wickedness.  The 
apostasy  of  the  chosen  people  was  more  complete  than 
ever  before. 

The  Assyrian  power  had  come  to  an  end  practically 
with  the  death  of  the  great  king  Ashurbanipal.  Nine¬ 
veh,  the  Assyrian  capital  fell.  (606.)  The  Babylon¬ 
ians  had  been  an  important  power  in  the  east  for  cen¬ 
turies.  They  had  opposed  the  sway  of  the  Assyrians, 
and  had  been  conquered  by  them  many  times  during 
the  last  period  of  Assyria’s  greatness.  (745-625.) 
After  they  had  destroyed  Nineveh,  the  Babylonians 
succeeded  the  Assyrians  as  masters  of  all  Asia,  includ¬ 
ing  Palestine.  The  Egyptian  power  was  checked,  and 
their  army  driven  back  to  their  own  l^nd.  Judah, 
118 


Habakkuk 


119 


subject  to  Egypt  after  Necho’s  victory,  now  was  to 
become  subject  to  Babylon. 

Just  before  the  advance  of  the  Babylonians  to  grasp 
dominion  over  Palestine,  Habakkuk  was  troubled 
because  God  did  not  punish  his  people  for  their  wicked¬ 
ness.  He  was  perplexed  because  the  sins  of  Judah 
seemed  a  matter  of  indifference  to  Jehovah.  His 
prophecy  contains  this  thought  and  the  answer  to  it. 

2.  The  Chief  Thought 

As  already  indicated,  there  is  first  the  complaint  of 
the  prophet  that  sin  is  allowed  to  go  unpunished.  God 
answers  him  that  the  people  shall  be  punished  by  the 
Babylonians.  The  terribleness  of  this  foe  is  described, 
and  the  certainty  of  punishment  by  them  asserted. 

This  threat  gives  the  prophet  further  trouble.  How 
can  it  be  that  God  will  allow  these  heathen  to  triumph 
over  his  people,  since  they  are  worse  than  the  Jews. 
It  cannot  be  just  that  the  more  wicked  shall  be 
victorious  over  the  less  wicked,  and  utterly  destroy 
them. 

The  answer  to  this  is,  the  punishment  will  be  with 
discrimination.  The  just  shall  live  by  his  faithfulness, 
or  faith,  and  the  Babylonians  themselves  shall  be 
destroyed  because  of  their  wickedness. 

All  this  part  of  the  prophecy  is  given  in  the  form  of 
a  dialogue  between  the  prophet  and  his  God.  Chapter 
3  is  a  psalm  of  praise  to  Jehovah  for  all  his  wonderful 
interventions  on  behalf  of  his  people  in  the  past,  when 
he  had  displayed  his  majesty  and  terrible  power.  The 
mighty  power  of  God  makes  even  the  prophet  tremble, 
but  he  closes  his  psalm  with  a  declaration  of  the 

i 


120 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


fact  that  whatever  comes  he  has  the  utmost  confidence 
in  God  who  is  his  strength!  and  Saviour. 

The  general  truth  of  this  prophecy,  that  God  would 
use  the  outside  heathen  to  punish  his  people,  and  after¬ 
wards  destroy  these  heathen,  is  found  also  in  the  pas¬ 
sage  cited  in  Isaiah,  ch.  io  :  5-27.  The  fact  that  the 
heathen  power  was  accomplishing  the  will  of  Jehovah 
did  not  relieve  them  from  the  guilt  that  resulted  from 
an  act  that  their  own  wickedness  prompted  them  to 
do.  A  distinction  must  be  recognized  between  God’s 
purpose  in  an  act  and  the  motive  of  the  agent.  (Cf. 
Acts  2  :  23 ;  4  :  27,  28.) 

3.  The  Course  of  Thought 

The  prophet  asks  how  long  he  must  continue  to  cry 
to  God  about  violence  that  he  sees  about  him  without 
getting  an  answer.  Everywhere  wrong  prevails,  and 
there  is  no  judgment,  1  :  1-4. 

God  answers  that  he  is  about  to  work  a  wonderful 
thing,  till  now  incredible  :  he  will  raise  up  the  cruel, 
swift,  dreadful  Chaldeans,  and  they  shall  swoop  down 
upon  Judah  like  an  eagle,  1  :  5-1 1. 

In  view  of  this  threat,  the  prophet  appeals  to  the 
justice  of  God.  How  can  he  see  the  wicked  devour 
those  more  righteous  than  himself  ?  He  further  recalls 
the  cruel  progress  of  the  Chaldeans  as  they  plunder  the 
nations  at  will.  He  waits  for  God’s  answer,  1  :  12  to 
2  :  1. 

The  word  that  is  returned  to  the  prophet  he  is  to 
write  upon  tablets,  that  it  might  be  clearly  seen  that 
God  had  foretold  the  destruction  when  it  should  come 
upon  them,  2  :  2,  3. 


Habakkuk 


121 


The  most  significant  truth  of  the  prophecy  is  given 
in  2  :  4  :  The  just  would  not  be  destroyed.  Two  read¬ 
ings  of  this  have  been  urged  as  correct :  that  of  the 
common  version,  “  the  just  shall  live  by  his  faith,”  and 
“  the  just  by  his  faithfulness  shall  live,”  i.  e.,  those  who 
remain  faithful  to  God,  and  are  thereby  just,  shall  not 
perish  in  the  destruction  by  the  wicked  Chaldeans. 
Paul  uses  the  words  in  the  former  sense  (Rom. 
i  :  17),  the  original  Hebrew  favors  the  latter. 

Beginning  with  2:5,  there  follows  a  description  of 
the  devastation  wrought  by  the  Chaldeans,  as  they 
conquered  and  plundered  all  nations.  Successive  woes 
are  pronounced  upon  them  for  their  selfish  wickedness, 
with  a  threat  that  they  themselves  shall  be  destroyed. 
Idols  cannot  deliver  them,  ver.  5-20. 

The  whole  of  ch.  3  is  a  psalm  growing  out  of  the 
revelation  which  God  had  made  to  the  prophet. 

In  ver.  2  there  is  the  prayer  that  God  would  carry 
on  his  work  in  his  people,  that  he  would  show  mercy, 
and  not  wrath  only. 

Then  from  ver.  3  to  ver.  15  there  is  a  magnificent 
description  of  God’s  manifestation  of  his  power  on 
behalf  of  his  people  during  the  past  history  of  Israel 
from  the  time  that  he  brought  them  from  Egypt. 
There  is  something  like  this  in  the  Sixty-eighth  psalm. 

This  thought  makes  Habakkuk  tremble,  but  he 
expresses  his  supreme  confidence  in  the  midst  of  any 
calamity  that  might  come.  His  trust  is  in  the  God 
whose  might  is  terrifying  to  the  wicked,  but  comfort¬ 
ing  to  those  who  fear  him. 


XII 


ZEPHANIAH 

Parallel  reading:  2  Kings  22  to  25 ;  2  Chronicles 
33  to  36. 

1.  Date  and  Occasion 

Zephaniah  prophesied  in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  who 
was  on  the  throne  of  Judah  from  639  to  608  B.  C. 
Manasseh,  the  grandfather  of  Josiah,  ruled  for  fifty- 
five  years,  and  his  reign  was  the  most  wicked  of  any 
of  Judah’s  kings.  He  was  taken  captive  to  Babylon, 
and  after  being  held  for  a  time  was  allowed  to  return 
to  his  home.  He  humbled  himself  before  Jehovah,  but 
it  does  not  seem  that  he  accomplished  any  considerable 
reforms.  At  any  rate  his  son  Amon  led  the  people  in 
the  worst  forms  of  idolatry. 

Josiah  was  one  of  the  best  kings  of  Judah,  and  he 
attempted  to  correct  the  evil  practises  of  his  people, 
but  the  nation  had  become  so  sunken  in  sin,  they  had 
so  long  rebelled  against  Jehovah,  that  the  punishment, 
long  before  threatened  against  them,  could  not  be 
averted  by  what  goodness  there  was  in  Josiah’s  reign. 
Judah’s  fall  was  not  only  sure,  it  was  near. 

The  exact  date  of  Zephaniah’s  prophecy  cannot  be 
determined.  It  was  probably  in  the  early  part  of 
Josiah’s  reign.  Nineveh  was  not  yet  destroyed.  It 
would  seem  that  the  reforms  of  Josiah  were  not  yet 
122 


Zephaniali 


C} 

.  till  O 


begun.  The  book  of  the  law  was  not  yet  recovered 
from  the  rubbish  of  the  temple  rooms.  (2  Chron.  34  : 
15.)  This  prophecy  would  thus  come  after  that  of 
Nahum,  and  before  that  of  Habakkuk.  In  purpose  it 
is  not  the  same  as  either  of  these  two,  though  it  was 
the  outgrowth  of  the  same  general  conditions. 

2.  The  Chief  Thought 

The  book  of  Zephaniah  is  brief,  but  it  has  been 
described  as  a  compendium  of  all  prophecy.  There  are 
in  it  threats  of  most  severe  punishment  for  sin,  not 
only  upon  the  Jews,  but  upon  all  the  nations  ;  and  there 
is  the  strongest  assurance  of  the  restoration  of  God’s 
people,  and  of  the  favor  of  God  to  be  shown  to  those 
of  other  nations  who  shall  serve  him. 

The  thought  of  punishment  is  centered  in  the 
declaration  that  God  had  prepared  a  sacrifice,  meaning 
here  death  for  sin.  It  is  the  “  day  of  Jehovah,”  a  day 
of  darkness,  as  it  was  described  in  Joel  2  :  2,  which 
Zephaniah  quotes.  The  punishment  will  fall  upon 
Judah,  Jerusalem  being  made  desolate.  Any  that 
attempt  to  hide  from  the  calamity  will  be  searched  out 
with  lanterns.  None  of  the  wicked  will  escape,  though 
the  righteous  may  be  hid  from  the  anger. 

But  the  threat  includes  the  outside  nations  as  well 
as  Judah.  In  this  part  of  the  prophecy  a  distinction 
is  made  between  the  people  of  God  and  their  enemies, 
but  there  is  little  of  promise  to  Judah  in  this  threat 
against  the  nations.  Jerusalem  is  then  severely  con¬ 
demned  because  in  her  intense  wickedness  she  did  not 
heed  the  warning  given  in  the  punishment  of  the 
heathen. 


124 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


But  the  prophecy  is  not  all  threat.  There  is  also 
bright  promise.  Even  the  nations  shall  be  converted 
to  Jehovah  as  a  result  of  their  chastisement,  and  shall 
serve  him.  But  especially  his  chosen  shall  be  restored 
from  all  the  nations  whither  they  shall  be  scattered. 
They  shall  enjoy  to  the  full  the  blessing  of  God’s 
presence,  and  they  themselves  shall  be  a  holy  people. 
Zephaniah’s  exhortation  to  Zion  to  rejoice  is  as  earnest 
and  as  full  of  gladness  as  any  that  we  find  in  Isaiah. 

It  is  thought  by  some  that  the  calamity  that  the 
prophet  foretells  as  coming  upon  all  the  nations  was 
the  invasion  of  the  Scythians.  This  view  is  taken 
mainly  because  these  terrible  hordes  did  sweep  over 
this  part  of  the  world  about  the  time  of  the  prophecy 
of  Zephaniah,  and  that  he  did  not  know  of  any  other 
power  that  could  so  punish.  The  prophet  was  not, 
however,  guessing,  nor  telling  what  any  other  could 
have  told  as  well,  he  was  uttering  what  was  revealed  to 
him  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

3.  The  Divisions  of  the  Book 

The  divisions  of  this  prophecy  are  quite  clear  and 
distinct  from  each  other.  They  are  as  follows : 

Ch.  i  consists  of  a  threat  of  punishment  that  is  to 
come  upon  Judah.  The  whole  land  is  to  be  utterly  con¬ 
sumed,  all  the  inhabitants  removed. 

Ch.  2  :  i  to  3  :  7  contains  a  second  division  of  the 
prophecy.  It  begins  with  an  exhortation  to  repent  and 
scape  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is  to  be  manifested 
gainst  the  wicked  nations  lying  about  Judah,  whose 
destruction  would  be  a  warning  to  God’s  people  that 
they  would  incur  the  wrath  of  God  themselves,  since 


Zephaniah 


125 


they  had  sinned  although  so  much  light  had  been  given 
them,  and  they  had  been  so  favored  of  God. 

Ch.  3  :  8-20.  This  division  is  in  marked  contrast 
with  the  preceding.  The  main  thought  is  the  restora¬ 
tion  of  God’s  people.  There  is  also  the  prediction  that 
the  heathen  nations  will  turn  to  Jehovah  after  they 
have  been  punished.  This,  however,  is  barely  touched 
upon.  Special  emphasis  is  put  upon  the  glorious  con¬ 
dition  of  God’s  people  as  they  are  brought  back  from 
their  dispersion.  Jehovah  will  dwell  among  them. 

4.  The  Course  of  Thought  in  These  Divisions 

In  ch.  i  the  thought  is  not  difficult  to  follow.  The 
threat  is  made  that  all  the  wicked  are  to  be  cut  off  from 
the  land  of  Palestine.  The  sins  committed  by  the 
people  are  named,  and  under  the  figure  of  a  sacrifice 
the  death  of  the  sinners  is  foretold.  The  destruction  is 
to  be  great,  the  goods  of  the  people  shall  be  carried 
off,  and  their  houses  destroyed.  Here  again  we  have 
the  term  “  day  of  Jehovah,”  and  the  description  of  it 
seems  to  be  quoted  from  Joel.  The  wicked  inhabitants 
shall  not  buy  themselves  free  by  their  gold. 

The  second  division  begins  with  an  exhortation  to 
gather  themselves  that  they  may  escape  the  awful  judg¬ 
ment  of  Jehovah.  This  is  to  include  all  the  sinful 
nations.  Here  the  thought  is  something  like  that  of 
Amos.  All  sinners  are  to  be  punished. 

Philistia  is  to  be  destroyed,  and  her  land  occupied 
by  the  remnant  of  the  house  of  Judah. 

Moab  shall  suffer  for  her  reproaching  God’s  people. 
Cush  shall  perish. 

A  special  threat  is  made  against  Assyria.  Her 


126 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


capital,  Nineveh,  shall  be  a  place  for  the  flocks  of  the 
nomads,  and  the  wild  birds  shall  lodge  in  her  ruins. 

In  the  first  seven  verses  of  ch.  3,  which  belong  to 
this  second  division,  Jerusalem  is  specially  rebuked  for 
her  sinning  when  so  favored  by  God.  Her  princes, 
priests,  and  prophets  have  been  leaders  in  the  people’s 
sin  against  Jehovah.  Their  chastisement  had  not 
turned  them  back  to  their  God. 

The  third  division,  ch.  3  :  8-20,  contains  the  thought 
of  the  restoration  of  God’s  people.  In  the  beginning, 
however,  there  is  the  promise  of  the  fact  that  the 
heathen  will  call  upon  Jehovah.  The  thought  is  not 
dwelt  on.  The  prophet  proceeds  to  the  description  of 
the  coming  back  of  the  scattered  people  from  all 
nations.  The  condition  of  the  people  when  thus 
restored  is  described  as  holy,  they  will  be -faithful  to 
God.  He  will  rejoice  over  them,  and  they  shall  be 
safe  from  all  harm.  Instead  of  Israel  being  a  reproach 
among  the  nations,  they  shall  be  praised. 


XIV 


HAGGAI 

Parallel  reading:  Ezra  i  to  6;  Zechariah  i  to  8. 

1.  Date  and  Historical  Occasion 

This  prophet  gives  the  precise  date  of  the  prophecies 
that  he  delivered.  Not  only  the  time  in  general,  but  the 
year  and  month,  and  even  day  of  the  month.  He 
prophesied  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Darius, 
king  of  Persia.  (520  B.  C. ) 

He  is  one  of  two  prophets  belonging  to  the  period 
after  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonian  exile, 
the  post-exilic  period.  Cyrus  had  issued  his  decree  per¬ 
mitting  the  Jews  who  wished  to  do  so  to  return  to 
their  own  land  to  build  their  temple.  This  was  in 
536.  They  began  the  work  the  next  year  (535),  but 
were  hindered  in  it  by  their  neighbors,  so  that  the  work 
ceased  altogether.  But  after  Darius  became  king  of 
Persia,  to  which  power  the  Jews  were  tributary,  under 
the  influence  of  the  prophets  Haggai  and  Zechariah  the 
temple  work  was  resumed,  and  was  finished  in  the  sixth 
year  of  Darius. 

The  Jews  who  had  come  back  to  their  land  were  not 
numerous,  and  for  the  most  part  they  belonged  to  the 
cities  and  villages  scattered  throughout  Judea.  Their 
original  homes  were  not  in  Jerusalem.  They  were 
poor.  They  were  oppressed  by  their  jealous  neighbors. 

127 


128 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


These  conditions  account  for  the  fact  that  they  at 
length  not  only  became  discouraged  about  being  able  to 
finish  the  temple,  but  became  indifferent  to  the  work. 
They  must  have  acquired  some  property,  for  they  were 
able  to  build  houses  for  themselves,  as  Haggai  says. 
They  did  not  regard  their  possessions  sufficient  to  build 
the  temple,  however. 

It  was  at  such  a  time,  and  under  such  conditions 
that  Haggai  prophesied.  The  people  were  few;  they 
were  oppressed  and  hindered  by  enemies;  they  were 
poor;  they  had  become  discouraged,  and  they  had 
become  indifferent. 

The  entire  work  of  these  two  prophets  was  to  meet 
these  conditions. 

2.  The  Theme  of  the  Prophecy 

The  purpose  of  the  prophet  was  to  arouse  the  people 
to  the  obligation  of  building  the  temple,  rebuking  them 
for  their  neglect,  and  assuring  them  of  success.  Evi¬ 
dence  of  their  sin  is  found  in  the  fact  that  their  crops 
had  failed  as  a  punishment  from  God.  The  word  of 
the  prophet  came  to  them  just  after  the  time  of  the 
harvest  in  the  fall.  It  is  probable  that  their  recent 
crops  were  poor. 

They  are  assured  that  they  will  be  blessed  in  all 
their  possessions  if  they  will  enter  with  zeal  upon  the 
work  for  the  Lord.  They  are  also  told  that  means  to 
finish  the  temple  will  be  furnished  by  the  nations 
around  them. 

The  prophecy  is  thus  very  definite  and  special.  It 
contains  thoughts  connected  with  the  more  general 
truths  taught  by  the  former  prophets.  It  does  not 


Haggai 


129 


really  add  to  those  truths.  The  development  of  pro¬ 
phetic  thought  had  in  reality  reached  its  climax  in  the 
prophecies  of  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Daniel. 

3.  The  Different  Messages  of  Haggai 

The  first  message  of  the  prophet  was  spoken  espe¬ 
cially  to  Zerubbabel  the  governor  and  Joshua  the  high 
priest  on  the  first  day  of  September,  520  B.  C.  The 
people  are  condemned  because  they  think  they  cannot 
build  the  house  of  God,  that  the  time  for  that  has  not 
yet  come,  though  they  can  build  fine  houses  for  them¬ 
selves.  They  are  reminded  that  they  have  suffered  in 
their  crops.  There  had  been  drought  on  the  land.  They 
are  urged  to  go  to  work  on  the  temple. 

The  people  were  roused  to  the  work  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  the  same  month. 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  October  the  prophet  gave 
another  message.  This  also  was  addressed  to  the  two 
leaders,  though  all  the  people  were  meant.  They  are 
reminded  that  the  prospects  of  the  present  building 
are  small  compared  with  the  old  temple  that  had  been 
destroyed.  But  they  are  assured  that  the  latter  glory 
of  the  house  will  be  greater  than  the  former,  because 
God  will  shake  all  the  nations,  and  they  will  bring 
their  desirable  things,  which  belong  to  Jehovah,  to 
make  the  house  glorious.  This  special  promise  is  to 
be  kept  in  mind  in  the  study  of  Zechariah. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  December,  in  the  win¬ 
ter,  the  rainy  season,  perhaps  when  the  work  had  begun 
to  slacken,  the  prophet  speaks  again.  He  cites  a  well- 
known  ceremonial  law  to  the  effect  that  anything 
unclean  defiles  what  it  touches,  in  order  to  teach  them 


130 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


that  their  own  sin  has  been  the  cause  of  the  calamities 
that  have  come  upon  them,  and  that  hitherto  they  have 
not  heeded  the  teaching  of  these  calamities.  They  are 
now  assured  that  from  this  very  day,  when  they  go 
to  work  on  the  temple,  God  will  bless  them. 

On  the  same  day  the  prophet  also  declared  that  the 
enemies  would  be  overthrown. 


XV 


ZECHARIAH 

Parallel  reading :  The  same  as  for  Haggai. 

1.  Composition  of  the  Book 

There  are  two  very  distinct  parts  of  this  book:  chs. 
i  to  8,  and  chs.  9  to  14.  The  difference  between  the 
two  in  style  and  character  of  contents  is  very  marked. 
Neither  of  these  peculiarities  would  be  sufficient,  how¬ 
ever,  taken  alone,  to  decide  in  favor  of  diverse  author¬ 
ship.  The  expression  found  in  ch.  11  :  13  is  quoted  in 
Matthew  27  :  9  as  having  been  spoken  by  Jeremiah. 
The  text  in  Matthew  is  accepted  as  correct.  These 
words  do  not  occur  in  the  present  book  of  Jeremiah. 
It  is  remarkable  that  they  are  not  ascribed  to  Zechariah, 
if  he  was  known  to  be  the  author  of  the  part  of  this 
prophecy  in  which  they  occur.  Some  believe  that  the 
book  as  we  have  it  is  a  unit ;  some,  that  the  latter  part 
was  by  another  prophet  after  the  exile,  and  some,  that 
it  belongs  to  the  pre-exilic  period.  It  may  have  be¬ 
longed  originally  to  the  prophecies  of  Jeremiah,  as 
would  be  indicated  by  the  quotation  in  Matthew,  or  it 
may  have  been  written  by  another  Zechariah,  other¬ 
wise  unknown. 

Besides  the  great  difference  in  style,  the  chief  differ¬ 
ence  between  the  two  parts  of  the  book  is  in  the  setting 
of  the  thought.  Everything  that  indicates  the  condi- 

131 


132 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


tion  of  the  people  is  in  accord  with  the  conditions  that 
obtained  before  the  exile,  and  the  threats  of  dispersion 
and  the  promises  of  restoration  are  just  such  as  are 
found  in  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  and 
they  are  of  such  a  character  that  they  would  be  inap¬ 
propriate  in  the  days  after  the  Jews  had  already 
returned  to  their  land  when  they  had  already  suffered 
the  captivity  threatened. 

Without  entering  fully  upon  the  evidences  for  the 
different  views  already  mentioned,  in  the  study  of  the 
book  here  it  will  be  assumed  that  the  second  part  was 
not  written  by  Zechariah,  but  belongs  to  the  pre-exilic 
times. 

2.  Date  and  Historical  Occasion 

The  occasion  of  this  prophet  was  practically  the  same 
as  that  of  Haggai,  except  that  he  prophesied  later  than 
Haggai.  He  began  his  work  two  months  after  the 
first  message  of  Haggai,  namely,  in  the  eighth  month 
of  Darius’s  reign,  received  most  of  what  we  have  in  his 
book  in  the  eleventh  month  of  the  same  year,  and  a 
further  message  for  the  people  in  the  fourth  year  of 
Darius.  (518  B.  C.) 

After  the  work  had  been  resumed,  as  Haggai  had 
urged,  the  enemies  of  the  Jews  again  attempted  to  pre¬ 
vent  them  from  building  the  temple.  They  demanded 
to  know  the  authority  for  the  work,  and  when  told  that 
it  was  granted  by  decree  of  Cyrus,  these  enemies  sent 
letters  to  Darius  telling  him  what  these  Jews  were 
doing,  intimating  that  damage  would  result  to  the  king 
if  they  continued,  and  suggested  that  search  be  made 
to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  claim  of  the  Jews. 


Zechariah 


133 


The  messages  from  the  prophet  were  probably  given 
after  this  letter  had  been  sent  and  before  the  answer 
was  received.  The  repeated  encouragement  that 
Zechariah  gives  seems  to  belong  to  such  a  condition. 

3.  The  Theme  of  the  Prophecy 

Confining  our  consideration  to  the  first  eight  chap¬ 
ters  of  the  book,  all  the  prophecies  of  Zechariah  were 
intended  for  the  encouragement  of  the  Jews  in  their 
work  of  rebuilding  the  temple.  Haggai  had  induced 
them  to  begin  this  work.  A  few  days  before  Zechariah 
first  prophesied,  Haggai  had  assured  his  people  that 
Jehovah  would  so  shake  the  nations  that  they  would 
bring  of  their  wealth  to  make  the  temple  glorious. 
The  first  brief  message  of  Zechariah  was  intended  to 
warn  the  people  against  following  the  example  of  their 
fathers,  who  had  refused  to  heed  the  words  of  the 
prophets  that  had  spoken  to  them.  Then  the  visions 
that  Zechariah  saw  in  the  eleventh  month  were  wholly 
intended  for  encouragement.  They  seem  especially  to 
have  been  meant  to  meet  objections  that  would 
naturally  suggest  themselves  to  the  Jews,  and  that 
would  lead  them  to  doubt  their  ability  to  complete  the 
temple  building. 

4.  The  Meaning  of  the  Different  Messages 

As  already  indicated,  the  first  prophecy  was  a  warn¬ 
ing  to  the  Jews  not  to  disobey  the  words  of  the 
prophets  now,  as  their  fathers  had  disobeyed  the  words 
spoken  by  the  former  prophets.  It  was  true  that  the 
fathers  died  and  the  prophets  died,  but  their  dying  did 
not  annul  the  warning  given  them,  the  words  of  the 


134 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


prophets  did  not  fail,  and  their  threat  came  upon 
the  fathers  before  they  did  die. 

The  visions  that  follow  seem  to  have  been  on  the 
one  occasion.  All  of  them  belong  to  the  night  of  the 
twenty- fourth  of  February.  They  are  in  some  respects 
rather  obscure,  and  have  been  thought  difficult  to 
understand.  They  are,  however,  very  interesting  and 
very  important.  Only  the  meaning  of  each  in  general 
will  here  be  attempted. 

Four  months  before  Haggai  had  promised  that  the 
nations  would  be  shaken,  and  their  possessions  be 
brought  to  aid  the  Jews.  In  this  first  vision  of  Zech- 
ariah,  the  horsemen  report  that  the  nations  are  not 
disturbed,  all  are  quiet.  Then  God  is  asked  how  long 
before  the  promise  will  be  fulfilled.  The  answer  is 
that  Jehovah  is  displeased  with  the  nations  that  are 
at  ease,  he  will  show  his  jealousy  for  Jerusalem,  the 
house  shall  be  built.  More,  not  only  shall  Jerusalem 
be  built,  but  the  cities  of  Judah  shall  also  be  built  again 
because  of  the  prosperity  that  shall  come  upon  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  God. 

The  visions  of  the  horns,  representing  the  powers 
that  scattered  the  Jews,  and  of  the  carpenters,  or 
smiths,  that  were  to  overpower  the  horns,  are  properly 
one  message.  The  enemies  of  the  Jews  were  actively 
hostile,  but  their  hostility  would  not  prevail. 

The  Jews  who  had  returned  were  so  few,  and  par¬ 
ticularly  those  whose  homes  were  in  Jerusalem,  that 
there  seemed  small  prospect  of  being  able  to  accomplish 
the  work.  The  next  vision,  ch.  2,  is  to  meet  this  objec¬ 
tion,  and  to  remove  such  ground  of  discouragement. 
Not  only  shall  there  be  inhabitants  enough  to  fill  Jerusa- 


Zechariah 


135 


lem,  but  they  will  overflow  the  city,  so  that  walls  can¬ 
not  contain  them.  Those  who  had  not  yet  returned 
from  Babylonia  are  called  to  come  home,  with  the 
promise  that  those  who  had  spoiled  them  should  them¬ 
selves  be  spoiled.  But  more  even  is  promised ;  instead 
of  the  people  of  God  being  few,  many  nations  would 
join  them,  and  they  would  thus  become  a  great  host, 
with  Jehovah  dwelling  among  them. 

But  the  Jews  had  sinned,  they  had  become  defiled. 
Would  Jehovah  be  willing,  in  reality,  so  to  favor  them 
that  they  could  do  this  work  of  temple  building?  The 
next  vision  is  to  meet  this  difficulty.  (Ch.  3.) 

The  high  priest,  Joshua,  here  is  representative  of 
the  entire  people.  He  stands  clothed  with  garments 
that  are  defiled,  emblem  of  sin.  But  the  garments  are 
removed,  and  holy  garments  are  put  upon  him,  show¬ 
ing  that  God  removes  the  iniquity.  Special  privileges 
will  be  granted  to  them  if  they  keep  the  charge  given 
them.  Joshua  and  the  other  priests  are  declared  to  be 
types  of  One  who  should  come,  called  Branch.  Later, 
it  is  declared  that  he  shall  build  the  temple.  The  work 
given  Joshua  to  do  is  under  the  care  of  Jehovah,  his 
eyes  are  upon  it,  and  he  will  adorn  it  in  its  complete¬ 
ness. 

The  next  vision,  ch.  4,  is  to  show  that  the  real  power 
by  which  the  work  should  be  accomplished,  was  not 
the  wealth  they  might  have,  nor  the  ability  of  the 
leaders  or  the  people,  but  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  lamp- 
stand  with  its  oil  might  not  easily  indicate  this  thought, 
but  the  interpretation  is  given  by  the  interpreting 
angel.  The  essential  thing  was  the  oil  for  burning. 
This  was  abundant,  and  its  supply  would  be  inex- 

K 


136 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


haustible,  as  shown  by  the  olive  trees,  all  the  time 
growing  the  oil,  and  constantly  pouring  it  forth.  The 
translation  “  anointed  ones  ”  in  ver.  14,  is  not  war¬ 
ranted  by  the  Hebrew,  nor  in  accord  with  the  context. 

In  ch.  5  the  two  visions,  the  flying  roll  and  the  ephah, 
seem  to  be  but  parts  of  one,  expressing  the  thought 
of  the  removal  of  wickedness.  Although  the  promise 
had  been  given  that  God  would  show  favor  to  the  peo¬ 
ple,  would  forgive  their  sins,  and  give  them  power  for 
their  work,  they  were  not  to  suppose  that  he  was  indif¬ 
ferent  to  wickedness.  The  flying  roll  going  through 
the  land  showed  that  he  would  search  out  all  sin,  and 
would  punish  it.  Sinners  were  not  to  be  left  undis¬ 
turbed  in  the  holy  land.  The  further  assurance  that 
the  land  should  be  holy  is  indicated  by  the  ephah  in 
which  sin  was  to  be  placed,  and  which  was  to  be  car¬ 
ried  off  to  Shinar,  which  was  thought  of  as  the  home 
of  wickedness,  or  the  place  the  people  were  removed 
to  when  they  were  exiled  for  their  sins. 

The  last  vision,  ch.  6  :  1-8,  presents  again  the  pic¬ 
ture  of  horses  and  of  chariots.  This  was  to  teach  the 
oppressed  Jews  that  their  enemies,  though  now  show¬ 
ing  opposition  to  them  in  their  work,  should  be  over¬ 
come,  and  be  punished  by  the  power  of  Jehovah.  The 
chariots  mean,  at  least,  conflict  and  victory. 

At  another  time,  which  is  not  definitely  given,  the 
prophet  was  directed  to  take  silver  and  gold  of  those 
who  had  just  arrived  from  the  exiles,  and  make  a 
crown  for  the  head  of  Joshua.  By  this  act  two  offices 
are  represented  as  inhering  in  one  person :  that  of  priest 
and  that  of  king.  Then  the  One  whose  name  was 
“  Branch”  is  again  promised,  and  it  is  declared  that 


Zechariah 


137 


he  will  build  the  temple.  Since  it  had  been  promised 
that  Zerubbabel  should  himself  finish  this  stone  temple, 
this  further  prediction  can  only  refer  to  the  spiritual 
temple  that  the  Messiah  would  build.  When  all  these 
predictions  should  be  fulfilled,  it  would  be  known  that 
Zechariah  was  sent  by  Jehovah  with  these  messages. 

Two  years  later  Zechariah  delivered  another  mes¬ 
sage.  Some  men  came  to  the  priest  and  prophets  to  ask 
if  they  were  to  go  on  with  the  annual  fasts,  of  which 
there  were  four :  one  for  the  beginning  of  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem ;  one  for  its  capture ;  one  commemorating  its 
burning,  and  one  the  death  of  the  governor,  Gedaliah. 
It  is  not  known  how  long  these  had  been  observed. 

In  the  answer  they  are  shown  that  the  fasts  were 
due  to  their  own  sin.  The  calamities  that  they  were 
commemorating  by  these  fasts  came  as  punishments 
because  they  did  not  heed  the  warnings  of  the  former 
prophets.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  words  in  7  :  9, 
10  are  quoted  from  the  former  prophets.  Then  the 
assurance  is  given  that  Jehovah  has  turned  with  favor 
to  the  people,  and  with  repeated  emphasis  it  is  declared 
that  blessings  shall  be  bestowed  upon  God’s  chosen 
people.  They  are  urged  to  be  true,  and  are  encouraged 
to  be  strong.  The  fasts  shall  be  changed  to  feasts. 

5.  The  General  Thought  in  the  Rest  of  the  Book, 
Ch.  9  to  14 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  what  the  chief  theme  of 
these  chapters  is,  but  it  is  difficult  to  determine  the  con¬ 
nection  of  the  thought  in  some  places.  The  general 
thought  is  the  overthrow  of  the  world  powers,  and  the 
establishing  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 


138 


Prophecy  and  the  Prophets 


It  will  be  noticed  by  the  reader  that  the  different 
aspects  of  this  general  theme  are  not  presented  in  one 
place  only,  but  found  in  different  passages.  Some 
phase  of  the  whole  subject  is  partly  given  in  one  con¬ 
nection,  then  amplified  in  a  later  passage. 

It  will  be  an  advantage  to  recognize  at  the  outset 
of  an  attempt  to  study  this  prophecy  that  there  are 
certain  prominent  ideas  that  govern  the  entire  passage, 
and  that  these  are  not  placed  in  view  of  their  chrono¬ 
logical  relations,  as  they  were  historically  realized. 

In  general  the  succession  of  principal  thoughts  may 
be  stated  as  follows: 

(1)  Punishment  shall  come  upon  the  heathen 
powers,  9  :  1-7. 

(2)  But  Jehovah’s  King  will  come  to  Zion,  ver. 
8-10. 

(3)  Israel  shall  be  redeemed  from  captivity,  and 
conquer  her  enemies,  ver.  ix-17. 

(4)  Because  of  sin  punishment  came  upon  God’s 
people,  but  they  should  be  redeemed,  brought  back 
from  their  exile,  and  made  strong  in  their  land,  ch.  10. 

(5)  The  shepherds  of  Israel  had  failed  in  their 
task,  and  were  punished ;  God  appoints  another,  whom 
the  people  will  not  appreciate,  but  will  spurn,  so  that 
further  evil  shall  come  upon  the  people,  ch.  11. 

(6)  The  nations  that  come  against  Jerusalem  shall 
be  destroyed,  and  the  people  of  God  shall  be  protected, 
ch.  12  :  1-9. 

(7)  Israel  shall  lament  its  rejection  of  the  Saviour, 
ver.  10-14. 

(8)  Idolatry  and  false  prophets  shall  be  cut  off 
from  the  land,  13  :  1-6. 


Zechariah 


139 


(9)  The  Shepherd,  Messiah,  shall  be  smitten,  the 
people  scattered,  but  gathered  again,  ver.  7-9. 

(10)  Jerusalem  shall  be  attacked,  but  God’s  people 
delivered,  14  :  1-5. 

(11)  Jehovah  shall  rule  in  Zion,  and  there  shall  be 
peace,  ver.  6-1  r. 

(12)  The  nations  attacking  Jerusalem  shall  be  de¬ 
feated,  ver.  12-15. 

(13)  The  remnant  among  the  nations  shall  worship 
Jehovah,  ver.  16-19. 

(14)  All  then  shall  be  characterized  by  holiness, 


XVI 


MALACHI 

Parallel  reading:  Ezra  7-10;  Nehemiah. 

1.  Date  and  Occasion 

While  the  time  of  this  prophet  is  not  given  in  the 
book,  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  belonged  to  about  the 
time  of  Nehemiah,  probably  after  the  reforms  under¬ 
taken  by  Nehemiah.  Malachi  condemns  the  faults 
that  Nehemiah  sought  to  correct.  As  he  is  not  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  book  of  Nehemiah,  his  work  may  have 
been  undertaken  a  short  time  after  Nehemiah.  The 
Jews  were  taught  by  their  captivity  the  evils  of  idol¬ 
atry,  and  did  not  fall  into  that  sin  again  after  they 
returned  from  exile,  but  they  did  become  indifferent 
to  the  commands  of  God  that  separated  them  from 
the  other  peoples.  They  were  in  danger  of  losing  sight 
of  the  fact  that  they  were  a  special  people  of  God,  hold¬ 
ing  a  special  relation  to  him,  for  a  special  purpose. 
They  had  intermarried  with  the  heathen  when  Malachi 
was  called  to  rebuke  them  for  this  sin. 

The  prophets  before  the  exile  had  predicted,  not 
only  the  punishment  that  would  come  upon  the  people 
by  captivity,  but  also  their  restoration.  They  had 
described  the  glory  that  should  belong  to  God’s  people 
after  they  should  be  restored  to  their  land.  They  had 
declared  that  Israel  should  not  only  be  free  from  the 
140 


Malachi 


141 


power  of  other  nations,  but  that  they  should  rule  over 
the  heathen  and  be  served  by  them.  God’s  people  were 
to  be  prosperous,  triumphant,  glorified. 

The  Jews  dwelling  in  Judea  in  the  days  of  Malachi 
had  not  seen  the  fulfilment  of  these  promises.  They 
were  a  mere  province  of  Persia,  paying  tribute  to  this 
heathen  power.  They  were  not  even  independent,  far 
less  predominant.  They  were  despised  and  oppressed 
by  their  neighbors,  and  they  were  poor. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Jews  thus  lost  faith  in  the 
promises  of  God,  and  reached  the  conclusion  that  there 
was  no  advantage  in  serving  God.  Those  who  did 
not  serve  him  fared  as  well  as  those  who  did. 

2.  The  Work  of  Malachi 

This  prophet  had  to  rebuke  the  priests,  the  religious 
leaders  of  the  people,  who  by  their  actions  were  bring¬ 
ing  contempt  upon  all  the  religious  services.  They 
ignored  the  distinction  betwen  things  holy  and  things 
unholy,  and  had  become  weary  of  the  whole  service  of 
Jehovah. 

Malachi  also  had  to  rebuke  those  who  had  divorced 
their  Jewish  wives  in  order  to  marry  wives  from  the 
heathen  nations.  He  had  to  rebuke  the  people  for  their 
sins  against  Jehovah,  their  oppression  of  the  weak, 
their  failure  to  support  the  temple  service,  and  their 
ignoring  the  necessity  of  right  living. 

He  assures  the  discouraged,  the  indifferent,  and  the 
sinful  that  the  Messenger  of  the  covenant  shall  come, 
but  come  for  judgment,  and  the  difference  between  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked  will  then  be  acknowledged  by 
those  who  had  said  there  was  no  difference. 


142 


Prophecy  anchthe  Prophets 


3.  The  Thought  of  the  Chief  Divisions  of  the  Prophecy 

Much  of  this  prophecy  is  put  in  the  form  of  a 
dialogue  between  the  people  and  God.  Charges  are 
made  against  them,  and  they  answer  by  asking  for 
the  evidence  of  the  sin. 

(1)  The  evidence  of  God’s  love  for  his  people, 
denied  by  the  Jews,  is  given  by  the  contrast  between 
God’s  dealings  with  Esau  and  Jacob,  although  they 
were  brothers,  and  might  be  expected  to  be  treated 
alike,  ch.  i  :  1-5. 

(2)  God  has  not  been  honored  as  a  father  by  his 
people;  the  priests  have  treated  the  altar  with  con¬ 
tempt,  offering  diseased  animals,  ver.  6-14. 

(3)  The  priests  are  to  be  punished  in  order  that 
God’s  covenant  with  Levi  might  be  confirmed.  It 
was  intended  that  the  priests  should  teach  the  people 
the  law,  to  keep  them  from  sin.  These  priests  had  mis¬ 
led  the  people  through  their  interpretation  of  the  law, 
ch.  2  :  1-9. 

(4)  They  were  brothers,  yet  had  acted  treacher¬ 
ously  by  putting  away  their  Jewish  wives,  and  marry¬ 
ing  heathen  wives,  ver.  10-16. 

(5)  They  are  saying  God  approves  of  evil,  since  he 
does  not  come  to  judge  the  wicked,  ver.  17.  But  the 
prophet  declares  that  God  will  come  suddenly  to  judge, 
and  the  wicked  shall  be  punished,  ch.  2  :  1-6. 

(6)  It  is  only  God’s  covenant  faithfulness  that  has 
saved  Israel  from  destruction,  for  they  have  been  sin¬ 
ning  from  the  first,  and  now  they  are  robbing  God  in 
withholding  the  support  of  his  ministers,  ver.  6-12. 


Malachi 


143 


(7)  They  say  the  wicked  are  blessed,  and  it  does 
not  pay  to  serve  God.  But  in  the  coming  “  day  of 
Jehovah,”  when  the  wicked  shall  be  punished  and 
those  who  fear  God  be  blessed,  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  a  difference  between  serving  God  and  sinning 
against  him,  ch.  3  :  13  to  4  :  3. 

(8)  They  are  to  remember  the  law  given  by  Moses, 
and  to  look  for  the  “  day  of  Jehovah,”  which  shall  be 
preceded  by  the  coming  of  the  prophet  Elijah  to  turn 
the  hearts  of  God’s  people  back  to  him. 


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Prophecy  and  the  prophets, 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


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